Protests were held at Luton Airport last month against proposed changes to flight paths going in and out of the airport. According to the National Air Traffic Service (NATS), the new plans would mean that aircraft taking off and landing at Luton would avoid going over as many towns and villages as possible, greatly reducing the number of people whose homes are affected by low-flying aircraft.
NATS also said that by re-drawing the flight paths, the safety and environmental performance of the airport would be vastly improved. But the changes will mean that air traffic will be stacked above the villages of Caddington and Slip End in Bedfordshire when waiting to land. Local residents are outraged that if the proposals go ahead, aeroplanes will be flying over the villages every four minutes, meaning noise and pollution will be significantly increased in the rural villages.
Leading the campaign against the proposed route changes is Luton South MP, Margaret Moran. According to Moran there has been a great deal of investment put into showing that Luton and its surrounding areas are good places to live. She believes that if air traffic starts passing over some of the quieter parts of the region then all that investment will be worthless. Moran is confident that the campaign will be a success, with MPs from both Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire backing the protests. Luton council is also opposing the plans and Moran believes that it won’t be long before Luton airport comes out against them.
