London Heathrow Airport Essay Example

war. It was built to the west of London, to be less vulnerable to enemy bombers, and was laid out with up to nine runways radiating from a cluster of buildings, including air control in the center. A good design for military aviation proved hopeless for a civil airport. Only three runways survived, of which just two (running east to west and generating most noise blight because of prevailing westerly wind) proved suitable for regular use.

As demand for air travel has risen and risen, governments have attempted to relieve Heathrow by diverting traffic to other airports close to London. Gatwick came first in late 1950s; Stansted followed in the 1970s. Both are now as full as Heathrow. Expansion looks like the obvious answer to the problem. Heathrow is beyond full, and a new runway and another new terminal would provide a bit more room. Moreover it is demand of BAA, the airport’s owner, and the airlines, especially BA, which holds more than 40% of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow.

The proposition is for a 2,200 meter runway to be built north of Heathrow by 2020. This would almost double the number of passengers passing through one of the world's largest airports and increase the number of flights from 470,000 to 700,000 a year. Any such plan is bitterly resisted by the residents’ groups. They contend that the local noise and air pollution caused by Heathrow already amount to an environmental disaster that expansion will only worsen. Environmental impact. Aviation has significant local environmental impacts, especially on those living close to airports or under flight paths.

The most prominent local environmental

impacts of aviation are generally considered to be noise and local air pollution, which can in turn impact on health. The volume of negative factors is increasing due to the increasing demand for air travel in the country. The environmental impact of aviation occurs because aircraft engines emit noise, particulates, and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming. One of the ways to reduce the role of aviation in global climate change is to use modern jet aircraft which are significantly more fuel efficient and less pollutant.

Other opportunities arise from the optimization of airline timetables, route networks and flight frequencies to increase load factors (minimize the number of empty seats flown), together with the optimization of airspace. Technological improvements are vital to improving fuel efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. There have already been significant changes over the last decades in the efficiency of aircraft, which are today 70 per cent more efficient than the first commercial jets.

The cost of aviation fuel has provided a strong incentive to operators and manufacturers to increase efficiency. This, together with a need to meet internationally agreed aircraft standards related to emissions and noise, has resulted in British aerospace companies investing a significant percentage of their annual research and development budgets on environmental technologies. The next-generation of aircraft, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 and Bombardier C Series, are 20% more fuel efficient per passenger kilometer than current generation aircraft.

This is primarily achieved through more fuel-efficient engines and lighter airframes and supporting structures made of composite materials but is also achieved through more aerodynamic shapes, winglets, a "one-piece" fuselage and more

advanced computer systems for optimizing routes and loading of the aircraft. Route optimization is another way to reduce CO2 emissions. Currently, air traffic corridors that aircraft are forced to follow place unnecessary detours on an aircraft's route forcing higher fuel burn and an increase in emissions.

An improved Air Traffic Management System with more direct routes and optimized cruising altitudes would allow airlines to reduce their emissions by up to 18%. Noise is another serious problem for the people living in vicinity with the airport. Noise is created by aircraft approaching or taking off from airports and by taxiing aircraft and engine testing within the airport perimeter. Aircraft manufactured today are much quieter than they were 40, 30 or even 20 years ago and these will be replaced by even quieter aircraft in the future.

But even though each individual aircraft is quieter, there are more planes flying now. This means that although the average level of noise is lower than before, the frequency of aircraft movements and hence noise level has increased. Noise can be described as unwanted sound. There are many different effects and sources of noise and individuals experience each of them to varying degrees. The effects can include general distraction, speech interference and sleep disturbance. Sometimes these effects can lead to annoyance and possibly more overt reactions, like complaints.

At Heathrow there is a full and comprehensive range of noise management measures already in place when compared with similar airports. This is based on the evidence of benchmarking studies and long standing status as a designated airport. These measures cover operational procedures, stakeholder communication and engagement as well

as mitigation and compensation schemes. To reduce the noise effect quota count system has been used by London's Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted airports to limit the amount of noise generated by aircraft movements at night time.

Each aircraft type is classified and awarded a quota count (QC) value depending on the amount of noise it generated under controlled certification conditions. The quieter the aircraft the smaller the QC value. Aircraft are classified separately for landing and take-off. Heathrow operating the system have a fixed quota for each of the summer and winter seasons. As each night-time aircraft movement takes place, an amount of this quota is used depending on the classification of the aircraft.

For example, the Boeing 747-400 is classed as QC/2 on landing and QC/4 on takeoff, while the much larger Airbus 380 is rated QC/0. on landing and QC/2 on takeoff. The quieter A380 aircraft therefore use up an airport's noise quota between a quarter and half of the rate of the 747, thus providing airlines with an incentive to operate quieter types of aircraft. The ‘night period’ is 2300 – 0700 hours (local time) during which period the noisiest types of aircraft classified QC/8 and QC/16 may not be scheduled to land or take-off. From 2330 to 0600, the ‘night quota period’, aircraft movements are restricted by movements limits with noise quotas as a supplementary measure.

In December 2006 the government published the Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006 to report on progress made in "… delivering a sustainable future for aviation”. The Air Transport White Paper stated that in addition to controlling and reducing aircraft noise

impacts, a proportion of the large economic benefits provided by airport development should be used to mitigate their local impacts. The principal mitigation measure for aircraft noise impacts is the provision of acoustic insulation and can be required on a statutory basis.

Airport operators are expected to: * offer households subject to high levels of noise (69dBALeq or more) assistance with the costs of relocating; * offer acoustic insulation (applied to residential properties) to other noise-sensitive buildings, such as schools and hospitals, exposed to medium to high levels of noise (63dBALeq or more). Ongoing improvements to aircraft technology will ensure noise levels are reduced, and plans for improved transport links, including rail and subway lines, will ensure greater access to the airport.

Britain would be able to meet strict EU air quality targets even with the third runway. The environmental impact of aviation in the United Kingdom is increasing due to the increasing demand for air travel in the country. In the past 25 years the UK air transport industry has seen sustained growth, and the demand for passenger air travel in particular is forecast to increase more than twofold, to 465 million passengers, by 2030. Two airports; London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport, are amongst the top ten busiest airports in the world for international passenger traffic.

Whilst more than half of all passengers travelling by air in the UK currently travel via the five London area airports, regional airports have experienced the most growth in recent years, due to the success of 'no-frills' airlines over the last decade. Heathrow airport plays a vital role in the economy of London,

the South East, and the UK as a whole. Heathrow employs around 100,000 people directly and indirectly, and is part of a sector that employs over 200,000 people directly in the UK, contributing over 11 billion a year to the economy.

As the UK’s major hub airport, Heathrow should be able to support a wider range of direct flight destinations and frequencies than would be possible without transfer passengers. This brings benefits for business passengers, those visiting friends and relatives, as well as leisure passengers. Air transport provides the international connectivity the country needs to succeed in a competitive global economy. It makes possible long-distance travel that connects the remoter regions of the UK and connects the UK to other countries.

It enables people to travel for business, for employment, for leisure, and to visit friends and family, and it enables businesses to transport goods rapidly to and from markets overseas. However, the right balance must be struck between the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of aviation. The British economy benefits from having Heathrow as a competitive hub airport, because the more transit passengers there are the bigger the route network and the more valuable the airport. But Heathrow will hardly be a desirable hub airport, because of where it is.

It will continue to be out-gunned by Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt, all of which have twice the runway space, better potential for expansion and better surface transport links. The availability of airport capacity has been identified as an important constraint on the ability to meet the increasing demand for air travel. Building 3rd runway and

a new terminal can only postpone the capacity problems but not get rid of them. Passenger traffic forecast suggest that within a very few years of a 3rd runway opening Heathrow will be full again.

Heathrow's status as a world-class airport will be gradually eroded – jobs will be lost and the economy will suffer. Nearly every other developed country faced with such problem. Time after time hub airports have been rebuilt further away from city centers where they can grow while doing least environmental damage. And it is inevitable fact for London. It’s just a question of time. Aviation will continue to play an important role in UK transport system, but that role will change.

Consultations are hold on proposals for a national high speed rail network, and expect that, in the longer term, much of the demand for domestic aviation and for near-European short-haul aviation could be met by high speed rail. A new high speed rail network would bring British key cities closer together, enable businesses to operate more productively, support employment growth and regeneration, provide a genuine alternative to domestic aviation, and create a platform for delivering long-term and sustainable economic growth and prosperity.