South Cambs MP Anthony Browne called on the Government to do more for residents disturbed by plane noise in a House of Commons debate.
The adjournment debate took place last night (Monday, January 9) following a reported "dramatic" increase in plane travel over South Cambs villages, due to changes to flight paths into Luton Airport.
Mr Browne has been working with local campaign groups, and convened a meeting with neighbouring MPs, the National Air Traffic Service, the Civil Aviation Authority and officials from Luton Airport.
Residents who were unaware of the flight path changes wrote to Mr Browne saying they were suffering sleepless nights, or that their gardens had become "echo chambers for all-consuming plane noise".
While proposals were consulted on, Mr Browne felt that the technical documents were ill-suited for general consumption, and that people's minds were elsewhere due to the pandemic.
Mr Browne is asking the Government to make changes to reflect the current situation.
These include revising the existing guidance to reflect the differing ambient noise levels in urban and rural areas.
He is also asking the Civil Aviation Authority to extend the review by a further three months, to September 2023, and for the process for changing airspace to be reviewed, to ensure there is more independent analysis once the new flight path is implemented.
In addition, he is asking the Government to ensure that National Air Traffic Services share their ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) and radar data.
Mr Browne said: "The impact and disturbance in South Cambridgeshire has been much greater than the consultation indicated.
"My constituents have suffered, as have those in other areas, and this must be put right while ensuring no other village meets with similar challenges.
"Local people must be provided with the opportunity to express their views on proposed changes, and they must have their voices heard.
"I want to transform the process for flight path implementation and to provide residents with a fresh opportunity to share their thoughts formally on the new flight paths."
A London Luton Airport spokesperson said: "The airspace change was implemented on February 24, 2022 to simplify arrival routes for flights into London Luton Airport and separate them from Stansted’s, ensuring continued safety.
"Prior to this, the two airports shared arrival holds and routes, which was unique for two airports of this size.
"Following an extensive public consultation that ran for more than 15 weeks from October 2020 to February 2021, NATS and London Luton Airport received over 2,400 responses which helped inform the final design.
"The Civil Aviation Authority, the regulators of the airspace, approved the change in November 2021 and will undertake a post-implementation review to decide whether the airspace change met its objectives.
"All data gathered post-implementation will be submitted along with all complaints received via the correct/appropriate channels to help inform the decision-making process."
An airport spokesperson added that recent airspace changes would have some benefits for Royston specifically, as aircraft from Luton no longer share a hold with Stansted over this area.
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