§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in which year noise limits were first placed on individual aircraft taking off from Gatwick Airport; and when he expects these limits to be reduced. [63453]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonNoise limits on aircraft taking off from Gatwick have applied since 1968. On 24 November 1997 we published a consultation paper proposing lower daytime and night-time noise limits for aircraft departing from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and more efficient noise monitoring arrangements. In February 1998 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) submitted an application for leave to apply for judicial review of that consultation paper. The Department subsequently undertook to publish a supplementary consultation paper and IATA withdrew its application for leave to apply for judicial review. We hope to issue the supplementary paper early in the new year. The consultation period will remain open until eight weeks after the supplementary paper is issued. As indicated in the November 1997 consultation paper, if possible the Secretary of State will aim to announce his decision within 3 months of this deadline.430W If the decision is to implement the proposals as set out, or with only relatively minor alterations, the Secretary of State would seek to bring them into effect within not less than 2, and not more than 3, months of the date of the announcement. Comments have been invited on these timescales as well as on the proposals.
§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his estimate of(a) the passenger throughput of the Manchester second runway by 2008 and (b) the increase in passenger throughput at Gatwick airport up to 2008. [63458]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonMy Department publishes national traffic forecasts, the most recent being for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. These forecasts split traffic between the London area and the other United Kingdom airports but the Department does not produce forecasts for individual airports. Manchester Airport has not published detailed forecasts for the period beyond 2005, but I understand that the airport company expects passenger throughput to exceed 30 million by 2008. the standard operating procedure will be for arriving aircraft to use the existing runway and for departing aircraft to use the second runway. BAA's most recent 10 year forecasts for its London airports, published in October, include 39.2 million passengers at Gatwick Airport in 2007–08 and 40.0 million in 2008–09.