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Civil Aviation Bill

My Lords, we, too, are concerned about the potential increase in night flights that the Bill seems to allow after 2012, and we want to respond to the major worries expressed to us by people who live in the various affected communities. The Government’s concept of a ““bag of noise”” that can be spread further around quieter aircraft on take-off will lead to peri-airport communities suffering from an increase in noise events late at night and in the early morning. Each of the noise events will wake up more people. These noise events are the process of taking off, which is quieter than landing, because of the steeper ascent of the aircraft. There is no intention, of course, to control landing noise. Aircraft that are landing fly slower and at full power on a shallower flight path and so produce more noise over a wider and longer area. Perhaps one day aircraft may be silent, but that is not today, tomorrow or any time remotely soon. There are good social reasons for opposing an increase in the number of night flights. An increase in the number of noise events will wake up more people more often, to the detriment of their health. I doubt that the Minister would believe that a grumpy people are an efficient people. For those reasons, we support the amendment.