As anyone living near a major airport knows, planes flying overhead can make life a misery and can also be bad for your health, particularly your stress levels. Even if you stock up on earplugs and succeed in training yourself to sleep through the noise, research has shown that your blood pressure still increases, despite the fact that you do not wake up.
In February this year, the National Air Traffic Services (the firm responsible for managing air traffic in the UK) announced proposed changes in the flight paths to and from Luton airport, and local residents must have been delighted to hear that the number of people being affected by the noise of aircraft flying overhead at less than 4000 feet was to be reduced by 20%.
All, however, is not as it seemed and reports now state that residents in the villages to the south east of Luton Airport will get a raw deal out of the new proposals, with 5,310 extra people likely to be affected by 57 decibels of aircraft noise. The villages of Caddington, Slip End, Woodside and Aley Green look as though they will be worst affected. Planes flying from an eastward direction from Luton will be flying much lower over Tring and Berkhamstead, and those going west will affect residents in Tring and Hemel Hempstead.
Other NATS proposals will also affect Heathrow, Stansted and London City airports.
