#Manston #nightflights
I am against Manston’s Night Flying Proposal because of the effect on my health. I live very close to the West end of Manston Runway. Being woken up by noisy aeroplanes several times a night is, in my opinion going to severely affect my health.
I also believe that the economic benefits claimed by the Airport owners are exaggerated.
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I'm against night flights at Manston airport. Thanet's main sources of income are service based, relying on tourism and language students in particular. Both these industries help families and businesses across the board, and both will be affected by night disturbances.
Night flights do not generate jobs, they cause hardship. Every pronouncement of more jobs for Thanet have greatly over-estimated the number of jobs available to locals, e.g. the Port, the Holiday Package airlines, Thanet Earth, the Channel ferries out of Ramsgate.... The airport is becoming a 'training area' for pilots wanting to keep up with their flying hours, and for planes to park cheaply, and for freight movements. These activities do not offer significant full-time jobs for locals.
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Sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture – unless it’s from authorised commercial business! DO NOT AUTHORISE SCHEDULED NIGHT FLIGHTS.
I have a young son who needs good sleep every night in order to concentrate properly at school during the day.
My wife needs a good night’s sleep every night so that she can adequately care for our son while I am at work. I am a ship’s captain and work away from home for lengthy periods.
I have no objection to large, loud aircraft operating in and out of Manston airport during the hours from 8am until 6pm but am against any scheduled flights by these large cargo aircraft outside these hours.
I recently had to join a ship in Stornoway. There was a Flybe flight to Edinburgh from Manston and a connecting to flight to Stornoway from Edinburgh. However, my company sent me via Heathrow – it was much cheaper, with a re-schedulable ticket, and including the train fare. As long as Manston does not compete on price with Heathrow and Gatwick, passenger numbers will never be more than a trickle. Years ago I used EUJet to reach Budapest – there were 16 people on a 100 seat aircraft. There just isn’t enough people willing to travel all the way to Manston to get a flight when the majority of the south east population are closer to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.
The high speed train from Ramsgate to London makes it simpler to fly from London for people in Thanet and Dover, meaning even less using Manston airport.
There will soon be almost no daytime scheduled flights in/out of Manston. USE THOSE HOURS before allowing Infratil to destroy every night in Thanet.
I do not understand why Thanet District Council have simply just refused to allow night flights for the foreseeable future – it is the will of the majority of residents anywhere along the flight path.
There is “talk” of a new Thames Estuary airport, or connecting Heathrow with Gatwick. Either plan would make any changes at Manston obsolete, unnecessary and unwanted.
I do not believe the Infratil predicted employment growth for the airport. I command a 5000 tonne oil tanker that has a crew of 10. That is a large crew complement for a 5000 tonne tanker. The refineries I visit have far less employees than lay people would think. Most work is contracted out to the lowest bidder who will sign the contract terms. Such methods would be the reality with Infratil. This is how corporations practice.
I previously lived in Herbert Road, Ramsgate. The cargo aircraft were so noisy and flew so low, the buildings shook and car and house alarms were regularly set off by the vibrations the noise caused. I remember looking up and being able to see the individual panels making up the wings and fuselage. The planes still had a few miles to go before they reached the runway. It’s not much better now that I live on the other side (to the north) of Ellington Park.
My father used to be a police sergeant based at the Ramsgate Police Station. One year, the police, fire brigade and ambulance services were tasked with an emergency exercise to create a plan for dealing with a large aircraft crashing into the town of Ramsgate instead of landing on Manston runway. Regardless of any official findings and senior officer statements, I believe the rank and file of the emergency services felt that in the real emergency, there were insufficient resources to deal with such a calamity. The resources available to the emergency services are less now than in the 1980’s.
Cargo aircraft need more powerful engines than passenger aircraft, so are much noisier. They require more thrust to take off and land, making that noisier. As they do not carry passengers, their safety standards may not be required to be as high. Certainly, the companies operating such aircraft will not have safety as such a high priority as a company predominantly operating passenger aircraft. Cargo is not so likely to walk off an aircraft as passengers might.
Instead of aircraft using the site, set up a wind farm and solar power site instead. A much better use of the space.
Ramsgate has an underused port. The Council should divert their energies to improving the use of this resource which has caused very little complaint over the years. The biggest disappointment in recent years was when the Sally ferry service ended! There are almost no ferry services across the Channel for foot passengers nowadays. Ramsgate is missing a big opportunity, especially with the fast train from London, to have foot passenger ferry services to the continent.
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