People will always object to any expansion of any airport anywhere.
I think BA asked the DOT to alter the site of LHR’s new short runway so as to preserve a 1,000 year old cemetery and a preserved wooden barn. So they’re not ENTIRELY insensitive.
Anyway, a related story from last month consists of the use of the very small number of night time slots at LHR:
“Plans to permit more night flights at Heathrow as long as airlines use quieter aircraft are being considered.
Officials believe the number woken up by pre-6am landings could be cut by more than 40 per cent if noise rules were changed to encourage newer aircraft.
At present, ministers are required to set a numerical limit on flights between 11.30pm and 6am, equating to about 15 at Heathrow. These are nearly all arrivals after 4.30am, widely unpopular because of their approach over the capital’s densely populated central area.
But a policy paper prepared by the department says the small number of night-time runway slots allowed tends to result in airlines filling them with their biggest aircraft, which are usually the loudest.
The most common early morning arrivals are 400-seat Boeing 747-400s, based on 1960s design. Under the Government’s quota count rules, these are four times noisier than the more modern Boeing 777s and Airbus A340s, which typically contain 300 seats.
A 747-400 landing on a westerly approach would wake 353 people, whereas two 777s or A340s would disturb about 198.”
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/14/nheath14.xml
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