Overheard overhead?


Have you noticed, above the sound of the wind and rain, an increase in aircraft noise in the past few days? Or conversely have you noticed much less noise than normal?

If you have, the reason might be a change in the way planes from City Airport are being routed. The airport has introduced new technology which makes planes fly along a much more accurate path, meaning they do not divert and so – in theory – fly over fewer houses. The flipside of that is that they fly over the same houses more often.

The changes were debated more than a year ago, though many campaigners felt there was not enough public consultation. And the more accurate flightpaths came into effect last weekend, hence the possibility of changed noise overhead.

The map below which we ran on Wansteadium in 2014 shows the difference between the two routes (plotted as accurately as we could manage). The lighter-shaded shapes show the former, larger, area which was flown over. The darker lines show the more accurate routes. (If you want to know the detail of why there are two different directions, it’s all to do with which way the planes use the runway, depending on the direction of the wind.) The clumsy “W” is Wanstead, more or less.

There is more detail in the article we ran in Nov 2014, which you can find here. And if you’ve noticed a difference either way, do get in touch.

10 thoughts on “Overheard overhead?”

  1. I live in one of the roads that sits directly under the ‘new’ flight path and have not noticed any change at all.
    To be honest, the sound of the aircraft doesn’t bother me, in fact I quite like it. But, no, no difference noted.

  2. Funnily enough the only thing I really hear is the constant noise from cars. I wonder how many of those who were campaigning against aircraft noise are also those that use cars for certain unnecessary trips which could have been done on foot/bike (eg anything under a mile or under 3 if access to a bike)?

  3. Don’t use yesterday as an indicator; loads of wind related cancellations.

    Feels a bit quieter my way but I’ll see how it goes.

    Agree vehicle noise and air pollution are the bigger issue.

  4. I was going to say that all I really ever hear is a kind of low-grade whining noise… from the anti-air travel Luddites who can’t stand the thought of a modern aviation transport infrastructure supporting our local and national economy. But that would be rude, so I won’t

  5. It is only going to take an accident like in Breaking Bad before attitudes change.

    Too many in the sky for me. I am outraged.

  6. Nice arrogant display from the air industry lackeys here. If “George” is officially connected with The Cuckfield, I admire his candour in admitting as much publicly. If it were me, I want to keep it quiet.

    Made a point of observing during my evening walk yesterday and the ghastly, noisy, polluting things from LCY seemed to be flying in exactly the same range of paths as previously, many way out from the new narrow flightpath. Sadiq Kahn, btw, believes Boris’s overturning of LCY’s plans for massive expansion needs “re-visting”, so you know who to vote for if you want even more noise and pollution over Wanstead.

  7. Well you’ve made me laugh, 640Tag! I have nothing to do with either The George or The Cuckfield – other than spending significant portions of my children’s inheritance in both of these fine establishments over the years.
    I’m pretty sure I’m not an air industry lackey either, although if you do know how one becomes one of those, do let me know I’d love to give it a try.

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