Originally Posted by
LTNman
Southend is in the unfortunate position of having home owners whose homes butt up against the runway. Even those that don’t will hear aircraft noise from a considerable distance particularly at night when laying in bed. Come summer when windows are open complaints will only get worse. Did Stobart really think no one would notice overnight Amazon 737’s or was it a case of we don’t care?
When the council put in overnight restrictions on passenger aircraft they did it to protect the public from excessive overnight noise but they clearly did not consider that the same type of aircraft flying in freight would land and take off instead which makes the passenger ban pointless.
What has happened now through Stobart greed is that noise has become a big political issue which will make expansion plans harder to get past the council planning committee. Maybe saying no to Amazon would have made it easier for the council to say yes to Stobart.
https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/180...night-flights/
I do not think it is just the Amazon flights that are upsetting the locals. I have heard (forgive the pun) that the new Whizz flights depart late in the evening, and seem to be noisier than the FR flights, which in turn are noisier than the EZY flights.
All of this is most probably a perception issue. A flight landing in the dead of night will sound louder than a flight departing at noon. However the airport owners seem to be attracting late evening and overnight operators (undoubtedly due to operator cost considerations).
These flights help contribute to the overall movements target but I can't see them adding much to the profit margin. The downside is increased local antipathy towards the airport.
If only the airport could attract full fee paying European short haul business routes the flying hours would be a more 7am departures and 8pm arrivals.