§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government why it is necessary for aircraft to fly at low altitudes over the Western parts of London in the small hours of the morning.]
§ Lord NATHANMy Lords, except for those aircraft departing from or landing at the airports situated in the Western London area, and a very limited amount of night training (about one night per fortnight), there is no necessity for aircraft to fly at low altitudes over this area at any time. As other forms of low altitude flight in this area have neither been sanctioned nor reported, the question posed by the noble Lord must relate to aircraft using the Western London airports.
Low altitude flight associated with a take-off or an approach for landing is, of course, unavoidable and, due to the development of the modern airliner, the linear distance flown whilst gaining or losing 1,000 feet of altitude is, to-day, approximately twice that flown by the older type of airliner in use before the Second World War. This is due to the fact that whilst the take-off and approach speeds of the modern aircraft have approximately doubled, the rate of climb 873 and descent have, for many reasons, remained approximately the same. Whilst the area of apparent low altitude flying in the vicinity of airports has, therefore, approximately quadrupled since pre-war days, the power output of the modern aircraft has also been considerably increased, with attendant increases in exhaust and propeller noise.
It is not possible for aircraft to take off and land without making some noise, and as traffic increases the duration of noise disturbance is bound to increase. During the night hours, due to the absence of surface traffic, domestic and industrial noises, any sound appears to be of greater magnitude than a sound of the same magnitude heard by day; but the number of movements to and from London Airport by night is very few. There have been no night-flying R.A.F. aircraft in this area for many months.
Lord STRABOLGIDoes my noble friend appreciate that these aircraft wake up a million or more people when they fly very low? And will he inquire as to whether, if they have to fly low, it is possible for them to make some sort of detour away from thickly populated areas?
§ Lord NATHANThe aircraft have to fly through the recognized channels of approach, and in circling the airport they must pursue the recognized routes.
Lord GORELLMy Lords, arising out of that answer, may I ask the noble Lord whether he will now reconsider and, if he thinks fit, implement, the findings of the Government Committee over which it was my duty to preside just before the war? That Committee went into the whole of these matters of low flying and noise, and came to a unanimous conclusion.
§ Lord NATHANMy Lords, the technical position as regards aircraft has vastly changed since the date of the noble Lord's valuable Report, but I will gladly do as he suggests.