The London Assembly has asked Mayor Boris Johnson to speak out against any attempt to allow night flights during the 2012 Olympic Games.
A motion agreed unanimously at last week’s Mayor’s Question Time calls on Mayor Johnson to write jointly with the Chair of the London Assembly to the Secretary of State for Transport and his relevant counterparts in the opposition parties to express their concerns.
Richard Tracey AM, who proposed today’s motion, said: “This is a very serious issue for all Londoners, especially for those that live under the Heathrow flight path. In London’s 2012 bid book, it projected that the arrival of the Olympic family at Heathrow would represent just one percent of the hourly capacity – so to suggest that night flights should be allowed during the Olympics is ludicrous.”
Caroline Pidgeon AM, who amended the motion, said: “Many more Londoners than you might expect are affected by night flights. For example recent research from HACAN suggests that half of the top 12 boroughs affected by night noise are in east or south London.
“If night flights are allowed for the Olympics, it could set the precedent for the future. This motion sends a clear message that the London Assembly is against the derestriction of night flights and relaxation of noise controls.”
The full text of the motion reads as follows:
“The Assembly notes with great concern that the Civil Aviation Authority Olympic and Paralympic Steering Group are considering the derestriction of night flights and relaxation of noise controls for aircraft during the 2012 Olympics. The Assembly believes it is unacceptable to impose further noise pollution from aviation on Londoners, particularly at night. We are especially concerned that any increase in flights during the summer of 2012 will adversely impact the majority of Londoners who either live near an airport or are affected by the flight paths and circling of planes across the capital.
The Assembly therefore requests the Mayor to write jointly with the Chair of the London Assembly to the Secretary of State for Transport and his opposite numbers in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties expressing total opposition to any attempts to ease restrictions on night flights or noise limits at any London airports either for the 2012 Olympics or at any other time, and to publish the responses on the GLA website.”
