Reacting to the announcement by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make changes to some departure routes from Gatwick Airport, Crispin Blunt MP said:
“Today’s announcement by the CAA confirms the change to the ‘route 4’ westerly departure which I reported on 17th September. I am pleased that the CAA is working with Gatwick Airport to prioritise improvements to this route. I urge them not to waste a moment in implementing the CAA recommendations. As I said before, the ongoing delays in fixing this have meant residents living beneath this concentrated flight path are having to put up with unrelenting noise pollution.
“I remain concerned about the level of concentration on departures and I am seeking new guidance from the Department for Transport to use the satellite-based navigation technology to allow greater dispersal and respite, in consultation with local communities. The policy of highly concentrated flight paths must be revisited on all departures from Gatwick including the easterly departures which turn westward.”
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The CAA have announced the conclusions of its review of the implementation of precision-area navigation (PR-NAV) technology on Gatwick departures: http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=2493
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