Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has commissioned research on the health impacts of living under concentrated flight paths in the context of airspace modernisation.

All major airports are required to map their noise impacts on a common basis every five years. However, there is no definition of ‘highly concentrated flightpath’ so no specific assessment has been made of the number of people impacted by such flightpaths.

All proposals to alter flightpath arrangements must follow the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) airspace change process (CAP 1616) which was revised in 2018 following the publication by the department of revised air navigation guidance. This guidance sets out the Government’s objective to limit and, where possible, reduce the total adverse effects on people as a result of aviation noise.

A key requirement in the guidance is the need for airspace change sponsors to consider the use of multiple flightpaths to disperse air traffic, as well as undertaking a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. Noise impacts must be assessed using the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance which includes a module for valuing the impacts of noise on health and quality of life.

The Government accepts that there are health impacts associated with aircraft noise and keeps all relevant evidence under review. The Department has previously commissioned research on the effects of aviation noise on annoyance, health and wellbeing and has tasked the CAA to carry out a further survey in the next year.

The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to the benefit of all airspace users and those impacted, including communities. Airports are responsible for the specific arrangements for low-level flightpaths. Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of CAP1616 and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. It is the responsibility of every airspace change sponsor (usually an airport or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)) to ensure engagement meets the needs of local stakeholders. The majority of sponsors in the programme are currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. Once approved by the CAA, each sponsor will move to Stage 3. It is at this stage that sponsors will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities. We expect that the majority of sponsors will be in a position to consult publicly from 2023 onwards.