Public inquiry accepts that people can be disturbed by 51 decibels as it rejects Gatwick Airport’s expansion plans.

Last week the Public Inquiry inspectors rejected Gatwick Airport’s application for a second runway. One of the key reasons they gave was noise. Perhaps of most relevance to citizens at other European airports and beyond was the metric they used. They accepted the UK Government’s view that people can be disturbed by aircraft noise when it averages out at 51 decibels over a 16 hour day. This higher than the level the World Health Organisation recommends but lower than the level used by the European Union and a lot lower than the figure used in America,

My view, having worked with residents impacted by aircraft noise for nearly 30 years, is that the metric used in the UK is much closer to reality than the metrics used in EU countries of in America..

Gatwick has long been London’s second airport behind Heathrow. It lies 61 kilometres south of London. A second runway would increase flights from 280,000 to 380,000 a year.

On noise Gatwick Airport had pledged that, with planes getting less noisy, it could by the 2030s restrict the area where noise reaches 51 decibels to 135 square kilometres, with 22,400 people affected in 2032 — fewer than the 24,050 in 2019. The inspectorate wanted that area cut to 125 sq km. The inspectorate also wanted more passengers to arrive by public transport.

The Government has said it is ‘minded to approve’ the second runway but will take six months to examine the Public Inquiry inspectors’ recommendations. A final decision is expected in October.

John Stewart’s weblog 31 March 2025