Originally Posted by
118.70
I'm not sure of the "full" - but if the airport wants to maintain any level of trust with the local communities and a sense of a social licence to operate it needs to have a meaningful engagement with the people it is going to affect in advance of inflicting significant changes from trial procedures. Noise effects need to be considered way beyond the 57dBA Leq16hr averaged contour.
Current CAA policy on airspace trials:
"Airports and air traffic control organisations sometimes carry out short-term trials to gather data and validate possible proposals for future requests for changes to the UK airspace structure.
- This means that for a short period aircraft may be flying different routes to the published structure.
- Government policy states that as these trials provide a valuable contribution to the efficient use of UK airspace we should encourage their use.
The policy also states that the organisation carrying out the trial is not normally required to carry out a consultation before doing so. But the Secretary of State’s policy does place an onus on us to consider the information the airport or air traffic control organisation gather on the environmental impact of a trial to establish whether a consultation/engagement is required. This will be based on information provided by the airport or air traffic control and take into account the level of environmental impact, the length of the trial and the environmental objectives given to us by the Secretary of State. If there is a consultation we will confirm to the airport or air traffic control organisation the level of engagement/consultation considered appropriate.
Due to the Secretary of State’s role in managing noise at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted if a trial is now proposed in the vicinity of these airports the organisation proposing the trial will also discuss the issue of consultation with the Secretary of State for Transport’s office.
Any trial will have a fixed start and end date and if, after the trial, the organisation running the trial wishes to make the change permanent then the full airspace change process, including consultation, will be required."
https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Guid...ucture-trials/