Heathrow Airport receives a noise complaint every five minutes

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Heathrow Airport is the subject of a noise complaint every five minutes, statistics show.

There were 25,200 complaints made between July and September this year, coming from 2,218 people.

However, just under half of the complaints – 12,312 – came from the same 10 people, a report reveals.

Slough was home to the majority of complaints during the summer period, with 3,944.

There have been 84,000 complaints in total this year up to the end of October, approximately one for every five take-offs and landings.

Campaigners opposed to the third runway at Heathrow, which was announced by the government last week, believe it will increase pollution and the number of complaints will rise.

John Stewart, chairman of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Hacan) told the BBC: "I would expect complaints to rise, certainly initially, if a third runway was built.

"The biggest thing that Heathrow could do to reduce complaints would be to give more communities a break from the noise during the day by varying the flight paths.

"Most of the complaints are coming from areas that get noise all day long."

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said: "Heathrow's plans for expansion will ensure fewer people are impacted by aircraft noise, offer more predictable respite than we can now and a world-class noise insulation scheme.

"Heathrow has consistently reduced the number of people impacted by aircraft noise, by incentivising airlines to bring their cleanest, quietest aircraft to the airport and driving forward changes in how they operate through measures like steeper approaches.

"Independent experts agree. Following the most in depth study of aviation expansion in a generation, the Government's Airports Commission confirmed a bigger Heathrow can be a better neighbour."