Proposed new arrival routes into London Luton Airport (LLA) have been modified
in direct response to feedback from residents and other stakeholders in the
public consultation held from October 2020 to February 2021.
The co-sponsors of the proposal, LLA and air traffic control provider NATS, carefully reviewed and categorised feedback from more than 2,400 respondents – focusing on the common themes that arose throughout the consultation. As a result, in the final design published today:
- The decision was made to progress Option One, which means minimal
changes from today’s flight paths below 5,000ft, and greater dispersion of
flights above 5,000ft
- The location and orientation of the new holding area near
the A1-A14 junction has been adjusted and the lowest standard altitude of the
hold raised by 1,000ft, reducing potential noise impacts on the residents of St
Neots and Huntingdon
The updated design is fully explained in the Step 4A(i) document (link),
and an accompanying technical map (link)
is available to directly compare the consulted design with the final design (‘before’
and ‘after’ layers can be switched on and off).
There is also a Final Options Appraisal document (link),
which describes the cost benefit analysis in terms of quantified and monetised
impacts and benefits.
The joint consultation, co-sponsored by London Luton Airport
and air traffic control provider NATS, consulted on two options to simplify and
modernise the arrival routes for flights into the UK’s fifth busiest airport
and segregate them from Stansted’s, ensuring safety.
This completes the three-stage, ‘we asked, you said, we did’ consultation
process, and the final design will now be submitted for approval to the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA) in line with the airspace change process. Subject to CAA
regulatory approval, the proposal is planned for implementation no earlier than
February 2022.