HACAN Clearskies Night Flights Campaign0

HACAN Clearksies is a campaigning organisation that resulted from the merger of the HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) and Clearksies, the South Londonorganisation that sprung up in the 1990s in response to the problem of noise pollution from aviation in the area. Originally starting life in the 1960s HACAN are no strangers to campaigning on aviation issues, especially when it comes to night flights. Indeed, in 2001 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg found in HACAN’s favour, and against the Government. The court agreed that night flights were an infringement of our human right to a good night’s sleep, however, the Government appealed and the court upheld the appeal in July 2003. Although the idea of night flights seemed to be have been kicked into the long grass with the go-ahead for construction of a third runway, it appears that as so often in the past, the insatiable juggernaut that is BAA (Heathrow’s operator) continues to steamroller over the rights and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Indeed, the UK’s Department for Transport has admitted that well over 500,000 people live under the night time flight path and that people woken up by night flights can become very stressed out. Whilst some argue that it is possible to get used to the noise, even the most hardened residents believe that enough is enough and things are clearly only getting worse as the noise from Heathrow is no longer just a problem for those who live in West London. Furthermore, research carried out by HACAN ClearSkies shows there is no good operational reason why the current night flights can’t arrive at Heathrow during the day and leave their countries of origin at a reasonable hour. HACAMN argue that it flies in the face of common sense for the Government to suggest that 16 night flights are essential to the UK economy, especially when they have produced no evidence to back this up. Consequently, a ban on flights between 11.30pm and 6am is entirely realistic. Although HACAN would go further, as there is strong evidence to support an 8 hour night flight ban from 11pm until 7am (when most people are asleep). A night ban extended from 6am to 7am would affect many more flights. But it would force the airlines and the airport to sharpen up their operations. It would result in far fewer empty seats on day-time flights and would force the authorities to consider the position of transfer passengers – who currently account for a quarter of all passengers using Heathrow and who contribute little to the overall economy.

Night Flights at Heathrow: FAQs

Whilst not seeking fame or personal reward, the Chair of HACAN Clearkies is certainly well-respected nationally, if not well-recognised. Indeed, in 2008, the Independent on Sunday named John Stewart as No.1 in their 100 Top Environmentalists. An individual who has been called a one-man eco industry, John has fought road campaigns in the 19802 and 1990s, protested against the abolition of cheap bus fares and acted as the key link between various campaign groups as he continues to lead the fights against airport expansion throughout the UK (some would say Europe too). Indeed, as the above video highlights, the campaign continues to this day, with John Stewart and HACAN continuing to fights the Government’s approval of the third runway. In fact all may not be lost as the Conservatives have pledged to abandon the third runway if elected and the London Assembly Environment Committee’s Flight of Fancy report described the safeguards set by the Government to limit the environmental impact of the runway as not fit for purpose.  As Mr Stewart knows, the battle is far from over and neither he nor HACAN are about to give up one of the most basic of human rights…the right to a good night’s sleep!!!!!