| For those living under the flight path of the busiest | | | | to respect for private and family life and home. |
| airport in the world a good night's sleep has become | | | | However, it did find that under Article 13 of the HRC, |
| a distant dream. A sleep- deprived Tessa Swithinbank | | | | the residents hadn't been given the opportunity to |
| explains why Heathrow is a Human Rights issue. | | | | make their case fully in the UK courts. So the fight |
| The sun is out and the birds are chattering. It is | | | | will go on. |
| blissfully quiet and I am deep in slumber. A deep | | | | Noise is one of the worst pollutants and can ruin your |
| droning noise jerks me awake. No, it is not my | | | | quality of life. Friends of the Earth remind us that |
| Sunday afternoon nap under the pear tree. It is 4.30 | | | | night flights have caused many residents to suffer |
| a.m. on a summer's morning and the first long haul | | | | from constant tiredness, clinical depression, irritability, |
| flight of the day is about to land at Heathrow. I have | | | | headaches and ear infections caused by wearing |
| to get up in two and a half hours to travel to work | | | | earplugs. It maintains that the noise caused by the |
| on a hot, sweaty tube train. Too late, though, to get | | | | night flights was substantially in excess of the World |
| back to dreamland. That jumbo has broken my sleep | | | | Health Organisation's guidelines for avoiding sleep |
| for good. | | | | disturbance at night. If you have troublesome noisy |
| Welcome to life under the flight path of the busiest | | | | neighbours, you are protected by the Noise Act of |
| airport in the world. | | | | 1996. But, guess what, it doesn't apply to aircraft |
| In Isleworth, we can just about get used to the | | | | noise! According to the UK Noise Association, aviation |
| aeroplanes coming in every two minutes during the | | | | is virtually above the law. |
| day because landings are rotated so that aircraft | | | | HACAN Clearskies (Heathrow Association for the |
| don't fly constantly over the same houses. But night | | | | Control of Aircraft Noise) is the largest voluntary |
| flights? I don't think so. | | | | organisation in Europe dedicated to campaigning on |
| Sixteen night flights have been allowed at Heathrow | | | | behalf of those who suffer because of aircraft flight |
| between 11.30 pm and 6am since 1993. Most of the | | | | paths. Whilst not opposed to Heathrow per se, the |
| flights arrive after 4.30 am. The government is | | | | organisation has fought various battles over the |
| looking into the possibility of more night flights, | | | | years. It played an important part, for example, in |
| provided aircraft use quieter engines as the older and | | | | persuading the Government to introduce runway |
| bigger aircraft make a horrendous noise. | | | | alternation, so that residents in South West London |
| So you can imagine how dismayed both myself, and | | | | were not continuously bombarded with noise. |
| the other 600,000 people living under Heathrow's | | | | There is also the ongoing issue of whether there will |
| flight paths, were to hear that the government had | | | | be a third runway at Heathrow. Heathrow's proximity |
| won its appeal against the European Court of Human | | | | to London means aircraft continuously circle over the |
| Rights' ruling that night flights should be banned | | | | capital and come in to land over crowded urban |
| because we are entitled to a good night's sleep. In | | | | areas. (If the 2001 Concorde crash had happened in |
| fact it was the European Court of Human Rights | | | | London, and not in Paris, the plane would have come |
| which overturned its previous decision in 2001 that | | | | down on Ealing!) |
| "there was no overwhelming national interest for | | | | HACAN believes that a third runway would increase |
| night flights at Heathrow, and therefore the residents' | | | | the possibility of a mid air collision over London. It |
| basic human right to sleep should not be sacrificed | | | | would also mean 500 more flights a day and a plane |
| for the convenience of airlines". | | | | flying over our houses every minute, not to mention |
| So why a change of heart by the court? Economics. | | | | bad air pollution, congested roads and public |
| According to our local paper, the Richmond and | | | | transport, and disruption of childrens schooling. |
| Twickenham Times, the court found that the | | | | So lets keep battling for a decent nights sleep. We |
| economic benefits to the country as a whole | | | | may have lost this round of the battle, but it will |
| outweighed the interests of sleepless residents. The | | | | continue now in the UK courts. |
| court said that there had been no violation of Article | | | | Looking for ethical companies that dont destory the |
| 8 of the Human Rights Convention (HRC), the right | | | | environment? |
