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Heathrow

The right hon. Gentleman is exactly right. Even a whole debate would not encompass some of the complexities and biases, including the subsidies mentioned earlier, involved in aviation economics. Much has been said that I do not want to repeat, but with which I would like to associate myself. Concerns have been raised about the devastating impact of the third runway on Sipson in particular, but on the entire surrounding community. Concerns have also been raised about climate change and the fact that moves to expand Heathrow fly in the face of any attempt to tackle what is probably the most serious problem of our day. I want to associate myself, too, with all the plans for modal shift and high-speed rail, which I have spoken about in this House before. Those issues have been expressed clearly. However, because of the circumstances of my constituency, I would like to focus not on the third runway but on the plans to end runway alternation. The Government plan to approve the third runway, but there are so many impracticalities and economic issues—not just the recession, but BAA’s financial condition—and environmental resistance to the runway is growing so strongly, that I believe those plans will be set aside. The Government will then pursue an end to runway alternation, which will mean utter devastation for my local residents. The consultation documents propose that with a full mixed-mode process—the opposite of runway alternation—an additional 60,000 aircraft movements a year become possible, which is a 12 per cent. increase. Those are not movements as we know them because the airport is currently able to pursue a policy known as continuous descent approach. In other words, aircraft stay as high in the air as possible and come down as steeply as possible, minimising the noise impact on the ground. That will disappear with a move to mixed mode, and the consultation documents are clear on that. At present, about 85 per cent. of planes use a continuous descent approach; that figure would fall to between 35 and 40 per cent. if we moved to mixed mode, which would mean the noise was much louder. The noise would be overhead all day. The hon. Member for Feltham and Heston (Alan Keen) commented that the impact on daily life would be phenomenal. That was very well said. When we look at the consultation documents, we see that the shoulders of the day would be most impacted by the move to mixed mode. One of those shoulders is the period from 6 am to 7 am. Let us imagine that being the worst hour of the day for noise in my constituency. There would be a plane overhead every 90 seconds between 6 am and 7 am. The second worst time of the day would be between 11 pm and 11.30 pm. Those would be the two most noise-impacted periods if we adopted the mixed mode. The impact would be devastating. There would not just be an impact on my constituents, although that is bad enough. Already, little boys stop me and say that they cannot hear their television programmes because of planes overhead. We all know that people cannot talk in their gardens, and that families who want a wedding in a church garden have to pick an afternoon when the planes will not be overhead; otherwise, the whole ceremony will be destroyed. I went to the opening of a school by Sir David Attenborough. The opening of the wildlife garden was timed slightly wrong, and he had to stop his speech every 30 seconds to allow for the planes to go past. The impact is huge. However, my area is economically important, and if people will not live there because their lives are about to be destroyed, the potential of London’s economy will be undermined.