Heathrow noise row stoked by new claim that 1m are affected
HEATHROW is braced for a noisy argument this week as a new report is set to state that more than 1m people are irritated by plane noise from the west London airport, far more than the figures claimed by the airport and the government.
Academics will say that people are annoyed by noise above 50 decibels, rather than the 57dB threshold used in earlier research.
Heathrow found in 2011 that 243,000 people were affected by noise above the “significant annoyance” level of 57dB, while a study for the Department for Transport found that 766,100 people are affected by noise near Heathrow above 55dB.
The latest Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources in England study, due on Wednesday, comes as the Airports Commission examines sites for a new runway. Heathrow, Gatwick and a new Thames Estuary hub are all being considered. Heathrow said its ongoing noise reduction efforts already encourage airlines to use quieter aircraft.