Flight Evaluation Report 2006/07

Transcription

1 Flight Evaluation Report 2006/07

2 2 Section A Contents: Section A Movement data 2 Section B Night flights 5 Section C Arrivals and departures 7 Section D Aircraft noise 13 Section E Enquiries 15 Flight Evaluation Report 2006/07 This online report provides detailed data on a range of key issues related to aircraft noise management and the role of Gatwick s Flight Evaluation Unit (FEU) in 2006/07. More details about all our work in this area can be found on Gatwick s noise website ( This report complements the air noise section of BAA Gatwick s online corporate responsibility report for 2006/07 ( For further information contact the FEU: Freephone: or lgwnoise_line@baa.com Section A Movement data This section provides detailed statistics on the number and type of aircraft operating in and out of Gatwick during the past five years. Table A1 shows the average number of aircraft movements per day. The movements in 2006/07 were generally comparable to last year and as might be expected, there is a summer peak in average daily movements between June and September and the November to January period typically shows lower daily averages. In April, May, June and September in 2006/07, the average number of movements per day reached their highest figure of the past six years. Over the past year there were 262,832 aircraft movements at Gatwick as passenger figures increased from 32 to 34 million, meaning that there were fewer flights than last year but more passengers carried on those flights. Table A2 provides a breakdown of those movements by aircraft type and in 2006/07 there was significant increases in more modern aircraft, in particular Airbus 319s and B s. The A319s, which had the largest number of movements last year, increased by 9% this year, due largely to the continued growth of EasyJet s operations at Gatwick. The other big change was Ryanair s replacement of its fleet of s with s, increasing the latter s movements by 58.5%. Continuing the trends of recent years, the numbers of the noisiest aircraft types were further reduced, with DC10 movements falling, due to Northwest Airlines no longer operating DC10s from Gatwick and DAS Air cargo ceasing operations from Gatwick. The number of DC10 movements has fallen from 3,160 in 2001/02 to 860 in 2006/07. The single biggest change in aircraft type movements was the Embraer 145, which fell to just 22 as a result of Regional Compagnie Aerienne pulling out of Gatwick in March 2006.

3 Section A 3 Table A1 Average number of aircraft movements per day 2001/ / / / / /07 leap year April May June July August September October November December January February March Table A2 Annual aircraft movements by aircraft type Aircraft Type 2001/ / / / / /07 leap year Airbus 319 1,122 1,555 2,822 29,844 45,947 50,144 Boeing ,916 20,569 39,050 34,295 35,302 34,963 Boeing ,332 21,015 26,312 29,727 25,365 26,842 Boeing ,684 22,465 23,227 25,712 25,503 24,992 Airbus ,242 16,343 20,251 20,420 20,797 20,950 BAe 146 inc AR1 43,920 36,046 14,998 12,410 13,072 14,049 Boeing ,587 5,956 6,427 6,031 8,209 13,013 Boeing ,174 12,659 11,622 11,964 12,373 12,480 Boeing ,218 29,301 22,393 16,865 15,676 12,455 Airbus 321 5,201 6,280 8,009 8,987 9,580 8,931 Boeing ,883 6,151 6,452 8,305 8,869 8,816 Airbus 330 5,516 5,613 5,897 6,480 6,734 7,464 Others 9,221 13,694 11,067 9,408 7,152 6,590 Boeing ,917 3,761 3,246 3,329 3,785 4,494 Dash 8 4,072 3,272 3,088 3,512 3,636 3,608 ATR 72 8,161 8,090 4,525 3,140 3,474 3,254 Boeing ,601 3,935 3,747 3,569 2,574 2,893 Airbus 300 2,817 2,548 2,447 2,675 2,146 2,184 Canadair Jet 3,728 3,272 2,230 2,096 2,084 1,624 Boeing ,710 11,349 18,329 5,726 3,414 1,129 DC10 all series 3,160 3,177 2,867 2,614 1, MD 80 all series 3,768 1, ATR Boeing ,355 3,321 2,117 4,848 2, Fokker Embraer EMB145 1,076 2,762 2,268 1,302 1, Tristar all series Boeing /200 2, BAe Total 247, , , , , ,832

4 4 Section A Tables A3 and A4 show how the direction of operation can vary from month to month. This year, the months with the highest percentage of westerly operations were November and January. June and July had the most even split of operations but the general trend in 2006/07 was of increased westerly operations. For any given month, the percentage of westerly operations can vary dramatically from year to year as Table A4 shows. June and July 2006 had the lowest percentage of westerly operations since 1998 with August, November 2006 and January 2007 recording the highest percentage use since The average runway split for 2006/07 was 74% westerly and 26% easterly. Over the last 20 years, the westerly-easterly runway split is 72% 28%. Northern runway use If Gatwick s main runway is temporarily unavailable for use, operations can switch to the northern (standby) runway, although the two cannot be used simultaneously. Table A5 shows northern runway usage during the past five years. It is used rarely, generally during periods of planned maintenance. The figure was down on last year but still higher than previous years and this is due to essential runway maintenance carried out in the first quarter of Increased use of the northern runway, which is not equipped with ILS equipment, adversely affected Gatwick s joining point and Continuous Descent Approach performance (CDA reduces noise from arriving aircraft by keeping them higher for longer). Aircraft go-arounds From time to time, it is necessary for an aircraft to abort its landing a procedure known as a go-around. The loss of an anticipated runway slot is the most common reason for a go-around. The closure of the main runway can impact on the number of go-arounds. The figure for 2006/07 typically remained at about one go-around per day as shown in Table A6. Table A3 Monthly runway modal split, 2006/07 Month Movements Westerly Easterly April 20, % 24.75% May 23, % 21.60% June 23, % 45.70% July 25, % 42.41% August 25, % 15.99% September 24, % 32.96% October 23, % 26.18% November 18, % 7.86% December 19, % 21.78% January 19, % 10.41% February 18, % 38.12% March 20, % 28.28% Table A4 Variations in monthly runway modal split, April 1998-March 2007 Month Highest Westerly Lowest Westerly Range April % % 44.5% May % % 46.1% June % % 33.6% July % % 31.9% August % % 33.6% September % % 48.6% October % % 44.2% November % % 38.7% December % % 35.8% January % % 46.5% February % % 45.3% March % % 30.3% Table A5 Use of northern runway Year Days used Movements % of annual movements 2001/ / / / / / Table A6 Aircraft Go-arounds Year Go-arounds % of total arrivals 2001/ / / / / /

5 Section B 5 Section B Night flights Currently, restrictions for night flights apply to the period 23:00-07:00, during which the noisiest types of aircraft are not allowed to operate. These restrictions also specify that between 23:30 and 06:00 (the night quota period), aircraft movements are restricted by a movements limit and a noise quota. The noise quota of an individual aircraft type is based on its official certification data, with separate classifications for landing and take-off in the form of quota count (QC) values. Table B1 shows the various QC categories. Generally speaking, the smaller or newer the aircraft, the lower its QC value. For each aircraft type, the departure QC tends to be higher than that for arrival. The total number of all aircraft movements in the night quota period over the past ten seasons is shown in Table B2. Subdivided into arrivals and departures, these totals include all aircraft subject to movement and quota limits, as well as those exempt or granted dispensation. The number of arrivals in the night quota period in summer 2006 and winter 2006/07 increased in percentage terms and this is due to the business model of the low-cost operations, which is based on as many rotations as possible and bringing the aircraft back to their home base. In the summer 2006 period, arrivals and departures in the night period reached a five-year high and the winter night-time movements were at their lowest since Certain movements during the night quota period are either exempt (by reference to their weight and noise certification data) or granted a dispensation to operate (usually only in special circumstances). Tables B3 and B4 show exempt aircraft and dispensed movements. The reduced figure in winter 2006/07 in Table B3 is the result of an airline running a postal service using an exempt aircraft type no longer operating. Some of the previously exempt aircraft have been recalculated as the new category of QC0.25. Table B4 shows there were 18 dispensations given in 2006/07 and these were due to low visibility operations when aircraft are directed to land as soon as possible for safety reasons. Movement limits and noise quotas The last ten operating seasons night movements and quota count use relative to allocation are detailed in Tables B5 and B6 respectively. Winter 2006/07 was the first to operate under the new quotas and movement limits introduced by the Department for Transport, and includes the new 0.25 category. The new quota and movement limits do not represent an increase in the number of movements allowed and mean a reduction in the QC allowance. In the first season under the new night movements regime, Gatwick recorded a higher percentage of the allowed movements but it is too early under the new regime to with draw any significant observations. Table B7 shows the continuing downward trend in the average QC in both winter and summer months in recent years. This demonstrates the shift towards quieter aircraft. Table B8 shows a breakdown of movements by QC usage and category. There was a reduction in QC4 operations due to them not being permitted to be scheduled at night from October 2006 onwards and DAS Air ceasing to operate earlier in the year. Table B9 compares the percentage of movements in each QC category over the past ten seasons. Gatwick will continue to work closely with its airlines to implement the DfT s recommendations. Figure B7 Average QC per movement by season Summer 2000 Winter 2000/01 Summer 2001 Winter 2001/02 Summer 2002 Winter 2002/03 Summer 2003 Winter 2003/04 Summer Winter /05 Summer Winter /06 Summer 2006 Winter 2006/7

6 6 Section B Table B1 QC categories Certificated noise level (EPNdB) Quota count QC Table B6 Night QC allocation and usage Season QC allocation QC use % use 84 to to to to to to Greater than Summer ,060 6, Winter 2002/03 6,660 2, Summer ,030 6, Winter 2003/04 6,640 2, Summer ,000 7, Winter 2004/05 6,640 2, Summer ,000 8, Winter 2005/06 6,640 2, Summer ,000 7, Winter 2006/7 2,300 1, Table B2 Arrivals and departures in the night quota period Season Arrivals Departures Total % arrivals % departures Weeks Summer ,457 2,488 9, Winter 2002/03 2, , Summer ,352 2,151 9, Winter 2003/04 2, , Summer ,451 2,227 10, Winter 2004/05 2, , Summer ,061 2,077 11, Winter 2005/06 2, Summer ,442 1,873 11, Winter 2006/7 2, , Table B3 Exempt aircraft movements Season Movements Summer Winter 2002/ Summer Winter 2003/ Summer Winter 2004/ Summer Winter 2005/ Summer Winter 2006/7 50 Table B5 Night movements limits and usage Table B4 Dispensations Year Number of dispensations 2002/ / / / /07 18 Season Movements limit Actual movements Percentage use of movements Summer ,200 9, Winter 2002/03 5,250 2, Summer ,200 8, Winter 2003/04 5,250 2, Summer ,200 10, Winter 2004/05 5,250 3, Summer ,200 10, Winter 2005/06 5,250 3, Summer ,200 10, Winter 2006/7 3,250 2, Table B8 Night Movements and QC Usage, by QC Category Category Movements Movements Quota Quota Summer 2004 Winter 2004/05 Summer 2004 Winter 2004/ Earlies Total: 10,249 3,000 7,863 2,614.5 Category Movements Movements Quota Quota Summer 2005 Winter 2005/06 Summer 2005 Winter 2005/ Earlies Total: 10,939 3,256 8, ,677 Category Movements Movements Quota Quota Summer 2006 Winter 2006/7 Summer 2006 Winter 2006/ n/a Earlies 4 n/a 0 n/a Total: 10,918 2,734 7, , Table B9 Percentage movements by QC category Season QC0.25 QC0.5 QC1 QC2 QC4 QC8 QC16 Earlies Summer 2002 n/a Winter 2002/03 n/a Summer 2003 n/a Winter 2003/04 n/a Summer 2004 n/a Winter 2004/05 n/a Summer 2005 n/a Winter 2005/ n/a

7 Section C 7 Section C Arrivals and departures The Department for Transport (DfT), which is responsible for noise policy at Gatwick and the rest of the UK s airports, has established a number of procedures and measures to help minimise the disturbance caused by aircraft taking off and landing at the airport. Gatwick s Flight Evaluation Unit (FEU) plays a key role in monitoring and enhancing performance against these measures. Departing aircraft All departing aircraft are required to follow one of a number of noise preferential routes (NPRs). Until March 2003, compliance with NPR procedures was only required up to 3,000 feet. Since then it has been raised to 4,000 feet for several routes. The result has been a higher percentage of deviations since 2003, as shown in Table C3. Figures C1 and C2 show a typical day of westerly and easterly operations. These maps show that the operational patterns for arriving aircraft (shown in red) is very different to that for departing aircraft (green). It is also important to understand that Gatwick does not operate in isolation its day-to-day operations must be integrated with traffic travelling to and from other airports. To find out more about specific flights flying over where you live, visit and enter your postcode. Most of the deviations occur on the westerly LAM route as a result of technical issues and the FEU has worked closely with NATS and airlines on updating and improving procedures on that route. A trial is planned for 2007 that is expected to improve NPR compliance. Overall NPR compliance was at is best level since 2003/04, with a 5.4% reduction in the actual number of deviations on last year with all but the same number of flights. Table C4 shows the proportion of total track deviations on each NPR. We continue working with National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the airlines to improve their track-keeping performance. Figure C1 Gatwick westerly operations typical day Figure C2 Gatwick easterly operations typical day

8 8 Section C Table C3 Deviations from NPRs Runway 26 (Westerly) Runway 08 (Easterly) Totals LAM CLN SAM BOG WIZ KEN CLN NPR % Year DVR KEN SFD HAR TIG SAM LAM DVR SFD Deviations departures deviations 2002/ , /04 1, , , /05 1, , , /06 2, , , /07 2, , , Table C4 Proportion of total track deviations on each NPR (%) Runway 26 (Westerly) Runway 08 (Easterly) Modal Split (west:east) LAM CLN SAM BOG WIZ KEN CLN % deviations % Year DVR KEN SFD HAR TIG SAM LAM DVR SFD from NPRs departures 2002/ : : / : : / : 15: : / : : / : : 26.5 Table C5 Track deviations by airline Total Total % Total Total % Total Total % departures deviations deviations departures deviations deviations departures deviations deviations Airline 2004/ / / / / / / / /07 American Airlines 1, , , Astraeus 1, , , Thomsonfly 4, , , BA/BA Connect 37, , , Continental 1, , , Das Air Delta Airlines 1, , , EasyJet 14, , , Emirates 1, , , Excel Airways 3, , , First Choice Airways 4, , , FlyBe 4, , , GB Airways 7, , , Centralwings Sterling Airlines 1, , , Meridiana Monarch 5, , , My Travel 2, , , Northwest Others 17, , , Ryanair 2, , , Thomas Cook Airlines 4, , , US Airways Virgin Atlantic 1, , , Totals 122,879 2, ,245 2, ,550 2, Table C6 Track deviations by aircraft type Depart Deviations % Deviations Aircraft type 2006/ / /07 B H B B B Gulfstream Others Avro RJ Dassault Falcon Cessna Citation Learjets TU134/ B , DC Canadair CL A330 3, MD81/82/ BA , A300 1, B757 12, B , B B MD87/ B777 6, B , B , B , B , B , BA A321 4, A320 10, BA A A Fokker A319 25, Canadair RJ EMB EMB Fokker L Totals 127,550 2,

9 Section C 9 Tables C5 and C6 show track deviations by airline and aircraft type respectively. The particular aircraft type and route flown directly impacts a specific airline s relative performance so as a result it is difficult to draw direct comparisons between airlines or aircraft types from these tables. British Airways and easyjet remain Gatwick s two biggest airlines so it is reasonable to expect them to have the most deviations. EasyJet maintained its excellent performance with 0.41% departures from more than 20,000 departures. The performance of Ryanair (0.94% deviations from 3,000 flights) and GB Airways (0.59% deviations from 7,700 flights) was also worthy of note. The FEU has been working with Northwest on its operational procedures and improvements are anticipated for In Table C6, it s worth noting that the deviations tend to come from the bigger planes which climb slower and can take longer to reach their designated heights. When planes do deviate from the NPRs, the relevant airlines are notified and their performance is closely monitored by the Flight Operations Performance Committee. Arriving aircraft While there are no set routes for arriving aircraft, there are longestablished procedures to mitigate the disturbance they can cause. These procedures concentrate on night-time operations, with the aim of keeping aircraft as high as possible for as long as possible. For example, there are specific distances and heights which aircraft need to maintain on the final approach or instrument landing system (ILS). Collectively, these are known as the joining point criteria. Between 23:30 and 06:00, aircraft are required not to join the ILS below 3,000 feet or closer than ten nautical miles (nm). Table C7 shows that while there was an overall improvement in the performance from 88% in 2005/06 to 95% in 2006/07, the use of the Northern runway from Jan-March 2007 while the main runway was undergoing maintenance work had an impact. Table C8 shows consistently high levels of compliance (98%) with regard to the height requirements. Following a Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), wherever practicable, is another important way of mitigating the noise of arriving aircraft. Continuous Descent Approach keeps the aircraft higher for longer, avoiding periods of prolonged level flight at lower altitudes. Figure C9 illustrates some typical CDA and non-cda approach profiles. It is worth noting that there are no set approach angles for an arrival to be classified as following a CDA. The Arrivals Code of Practice a technical advisory document aimed at reducing the noise created by arriving aircraft and subsequent communications and analysis by airlines, NATS and the FEU, have resulted in significant improvements in the CDA achievement rate across all time periods. The most sensitive period is the night quota period and in 2006/07 Gatwick recorded its best ever performance with a 90% achievement of CDAs see Table C10. As with the joining point criteria, performance was affected by runway maintenance in early Figure C9 Example of a CDA and non-cda approach profile Distance from touchdown CDA approach Non CDA Aircraft joins the ILS (joining point)

10 10 Section C Table C7 Aircraft joining the ILS at distances greater than 10nm (23:30-06:00) 2002/ / / / /07 Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % April May , June 1, , July 1, , , , August 1, , , , September 1, , , , October , November December January February March Year Total 9, , , , Table C8 Aircraft Joining the ILS above an altitude of 2,900 feet (23:30-06:00) 2002/ / / / /07 Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % April May , June 1, , , July 1, , , , August 1, , , , September 1, , , , October , , November December January February March Year Total 9, , , , Table C10 Monthly core night-time arrivals (23:30-06:00) and achievement of CDAs 2002/ / / / /07 Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % April May , , June 1, , ,234 1, July 1,244 1, ,213 1, ,393 1, ,506 1, August 1,477 1, ,381 1, ,385 1, ,663 1, September 1,196 1, ,182 1, ,370 1, ,475 1, October , , ,253 1, November December January February March Year Total 9,867 8, ,547 8, ,505 9, ,832 9,

11 Section C 11 Figures C11 and C12 show track density plots of night-time westerly arriving aircraft to 4,000 feet for September 1996 and The area covered by aircraft below 4,000 feet in September 2006 is notably smaller than in September 1996 underlining the improvement in CDA achievement. There were also improvements in CDA achievement for the whole night restriction period, and during daytime, as shown in Tables C13 and C14. Gatwick recorded its best ever night-time CDA achievement levels for the night-time and day-time periods. Day-time CDA achievement has risen from 72% four years ago to 80% in 2006/07. Figure C15 shows the seasonal nature of CDA achievement. The Arrivals Code of Practice, which was revised in 2006/07, contains further mitigation measures relating to arriving aircraft. For more details visit: Figure C11 Track density plots of westerly (23:30-06:00) arriving aircraft to 4,000ft for September 1996 Figure C12 Track density plots of westerly (23:30-06:00) arriving aircraft to 4,000ft for September 2006

12 12 Section C Table C13 Monthly Core Night + Shoulder Arrivals (23:00-07:00) and achievement of CDAs 2002/ / / / /07 Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % April 1, , ,373 1, ,332 1, ,448 1, May 1,535 1, ,589 1, ,658 1, ,780 1, ,772 1, June 1,532 1, ,650 1, ,755 1, ,866 1, ,042 1, July 1,857 1, ,842 1, ,089 1, ,237 1, ,335 2, August 2,115 1, ,038 1, ,068 1, ,411 1, ,460 2, September 1,832 1, ,872 1, ,094 1, ,148 1, ,292 2, October 1,405 1, ,630 1, ,789 1, ,930 1, ,910 1, November 1, December , , , January , , February , , March , , ,262 1, Year Total 16,043 12, ,280 13, ,812 15, ,089 15, ,741 16, Table C14 Monthly Day Arrivals (07:01-22:59) and achievement of CDAs 2002/ / / / /07 Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % Arrivals CDAs % April ,452 6, ,900 7, ,666 6, May ,503 7, ,856 7, ,856 7, June ,417 7, ,975 7, ,842 8, July ,078 7, ,415 7, ,989 8, August ,334 7, ,423 8, ,254 8, September ,551 7, ,866 7, ,894 8, October ,537 7, ,625 7, ,684 7, November ,098 6, ,206 6, ,975 6, December ,362 6, ,545 6, ,436 6, January ,419 6, ,868 6, ,715 6, February ,915 6, ,221 6, ,012 6, March ,121 7, ,135 7, ,034 7, Year Total ,787 83, ,035 87, ,357 88, Figure C15 CDA achievement by month for the three key time periods Jan-02 Feb-02 Mar-02 Apr-02 May-02 Jun-02 Jul-02 Aug-02 Sep-02 Oct-02 Nov-02 Dec-02 Jan-03 Feb-03 Mar-03 Apr-03 May-03 Jun-03 Jul-03 Aug-03 Sep-03 Oct-03 Nov-03 Dec-03 Jan-04 Feb-04 Mar-04 Apr-04 May-04 Jun-04 Jul-04 Aug-04 Sep-04 Oct-04 Nov-04 Dec-04 Jan-05 Feb-05 Mar-05 Apr-05 May-05 Jun-05 Jul-05 Aug-05 Sep-05 Oct-05 Nov-05 Dec-05 Jan-06 Feb-06 Mar-06 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 Jul-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 NQP core night time (23:30-06:00) NRP night and shoulder (23:00-07:00) DAY (07:00-23:00)

13 Section D 13 Section D Aircraft Noise Gatwick assesses aircraft noise in three different ways: annual air noise contours mobile noise monitoring studies departure noise limit compliance. As this report went online, the 2006 noise contours were not yet available from the DfT. When completed, they will be published on the DfT s website Mobile noise monitoring data is recorded at five community locations close to the airport (see Figure D1) and we meet quarterly with local Environmental Health Officers to discuss the results. Noise limits All take-offs from Gatwick are subject to departure noise limits set by the DfT. Since spring 2001 there have been three limits in place at Gatwick for the day, shoulder and night-time periods. The departure noise limits are based on the assumption that the noise monitors are exactly 6.5km from the start of roll point on the runway and at the same elevation as the airfield. In reality, this is seldom possible and, consequently, adjustments are made to the limits to account for any variances in monitor position. A margin of error for the microphone is also taken into account (+/- 0.7dBA). Table D2 gives a summary of the limits that apply to the specific monitors and the approximate location of the sites is shown in Figure D1. In 2006/07, noise infringements recorded at Gatwick fell to 11, a significant improvement on the past two years (Figure D3). This is a result of the FEU working closely with the airlines that had previously infringed noise limits to improve their operating performance. Of those, eight were from Air Atlanta and Gatwick s Flight Operations Performance Committee (FLOPC) is working with the airline and expecting improvements in The 2006/07 infringements are listed in detail (Table D4) and this improved performance reflects the continuing efforts to crack down on noise infringements. Airlines are charged for noise infringements, with all proceeds being paid into the independently-run BAA Gatwick Community Trust. Table D5 summarises the number of infringements over the past five years and the amount of money raised for the Community Trust. Gatwick recorded its lowest ever number of night-time noise infringements, partly due to Das Air no longer operating from the airport. Figure D3 Total noise infringements / / / / / /07 Figure D1 Noise monitoring sites Permanent Noise Monitors Mobile Noise Monitors

14 14 Section D Table D2 Noise limits as adjusted for individual monitoring sites Site Adjustments specific to monitoring sites Adjusted limit values at monitoring sites Positional Equipment Total Day Shoulder Night Table D4 All noise infringements 2006/07 Number Date/Time Flight No A/C Type Reg R/W Monitor Lmax Limit at Excess Tailwind Adj Limit Fine ( ) Day/Night Monitor Adjustment 1 29/07/ :35:54 DSR405 D13 5XDAS 26L N 2 17/08/ :56:09 XLA TFAMJ 08R D 3 15/09/ :07:38 XLA TFAMJ 08R D 4 16/09/ :45:06 XLA122L 743 TFAMJ 08R D 5 21/09/ :34:35 XLA TFAMJ 08R D 6 22/09/ :23:55 XLA TFAMJ 08R D 7 29/09/ :21:09 XLA TFAMJ 26L D 8 30/09/ :57:00 NMB386 L15 CSTMP 26L N 9 14/10/ :57:03 XLA TFAMJ 08R D 10 19/10/ :17:04 XLA TFAMJ 26L D 11 21/10/ :41:14 XLA122L 743 TFAMJ 26L D Total 5,500 Table D5 Departure noise limit infringements 2002/ / / / /07 Night-time infringements Shoulder hour infringements Day-time infringements Total Total Gatwick departures 122, , , , ,416 Infringements as % of departures 0.007% 0.007% 0.022% 0.027% 0.008% Total surcharges 4,000 4,500 14,500 19,000 5,500

15 Section E 15 Section E Enquiries Callers, enquiries and events This year, the number of callers (587) was the lowest for the past five years and there was a big reduction in the total number of enquiries to the FEU from 8,718 in 2005/06 to 4,739 in 2006/07. In addition to callers and enquiries, references to events are made as a caller can make one call (enquiry) but list several times of disturbance (events) and each is logged separately. The number of events is again not uniformly distributed due to the concentration of calls from a few individuals. One resident in East Grinstead contacted the FEU on 3,432 occasions, which equates to 72% of the total enquiries and 51% of the total events. Gatwick s noise website, that allows people to log complaints online and find out which aircraft was flying over their house at any given time, went live in May 2007 and will prove to be a valuable tool in monitoring and managing enquiries. For more details, visit Table E1 shows the monthly and annual number of enquiries during the past five years. The number of enquiries is, apart from April and July, lower than each comparable month over the previous year. The table also includes the number of enquiries dealt with within the target of 95% within eight days. For the seventh consecutive year the Environmental Information Team met this target. Figure E2 shows a graphical illustration of the enquiries by month, highlighting the peak commencing in May and running through to August. Summer peaks are usually due to the fact that more people are outside during this period and their windows are open at night. Also, during periods of fine weather there are more easterly operations, which tend to generate more calls. The peaks are also illustrated in Figure E3, which show enquiries by quarter. Figure E2 Enquiries by month April May June July August September October November December January February March 2002/ / / / /07 Figure E3 Enquiries by quarter April-June July-September 2002/ / / / /07 October-December January-March

16 16 Section E Table E1 Total enquiries recorded by the FEU by month 2002/ / / / / /07 dealt with within 8 days April % May % June % July % August % September % October % November % December % January % February % March % Total % Table E4 Reported reasons for complaints 2002/03 % 2003/04 % 2004/05 % 2005/06 % 2006/07 % Aircraft noise Track keeping Low flying Ground noise Pollution Night flights Increased flights Other Total Table E5 Locations with 10+ callers Horley 29 Crawley Down 27 Crawley 25 Newdigate 23 Copthorne 21 Hever 19 Capel 16 Rusper 16 Smallfield 11 Table E6 Locations with 50+ events Callers East Grinstead 3449 (3432 from 1 caller) 9 Marsh Green Hever Lingfield Horley Nutley Horsham 90 5 Newdigate Balcombe 61 6 Crawley Down Capel Table E7 Causes at locations with 50+ events Reasons Affected by Track keeping Air Noise Low Flying Concentration Ground Noise Pollution Departures Arrivals East Grinstead X X X X Marsh Green X X X X Hever X X X X Lingfield X X X X Horley X X X X X X Nutley X X X X Horsham X X X X X Newdigate X X X X Balcombe X X X Crawley Down X X X X Capel X X X X

17 Section E 17 Reasons for complaints Table E4 lists the number of reasons for enquiries during the past five years. The three most common categories are air noise, track keeping and low flying. The first two of these showed a reduction on last year and complaints citing low flying increased. It must be noted that the reasons stated are those given by the caller and not the result of any investigation. Other reasons include matters of a technical nature, policy questions, safety issues and insulation enquiries. These are usually too few to categorise separately. Caller locations How we investigate enquiries and complaints is aided by quick address postcoding and geographic mapping, which locates a caller s postcode on an Ordnance Survey map (see Figure E6). In addition, radar data supplied by NATS can be overlaid, enabling accurate airline, aircraft type, height and noise data to be extracted. Table E5 shows, in descending order, locations with more than ten callers. All the locations in this table lie within approximately 11 miles of the airport. Many other locations record only one caller, enquiry and event which results in very few annual statistics from these areas. Table E6 shows, in descending order, the locations recording 50 or more events. Some of these locations are further afield than those listed in Table E5 and suggest that outlying, more sparsely populated areas can be more sensitive to disturbance than areas closer to the airport. Table E7 shows the reported reasons for calls in each of the locations in Table E6, together with the particular operations that affect those locations. These are the most common reasons and operations and it does not mean that the locations are not or will not be affected in other ways in the future. Figure E6 Postcode locations of complaint enquiries in 2006/07

18 Contact us If you have any comments on this report or would like to know more about the work of Gatwick s Flight Evaluation Unit please contact: Rick Norman Environment Strategy and Stakeholder Manager lgwnoise_line@baa.com Freephone: All aspects of Gatwick s noise policies and activities are covered in more detail at: 1 For details of Gatwick s corporate responsibility programmes visit: 1 If you would like this document in an alternative format, please call us on Alternatively, an accessible version of this document can be found on our website. 1 For further information on BAA Gatwick please contact us on: +44 (0) or visit our website 1 Produced by BAA Gatwick Project management/copywriting by Lang Communications Registered office BAA Gatwick Gatwick Airport, West Sussex RH6 0NP United Kingdom Telephone +44 (0) BAA Gatwick