- Birmingham Airport have said that the Runway 33 flight path consultation will close on November 6th - one month later than originally planned.
- The move comes after the Meriden MP, Dame Caroline Spelman, and North Warwickshire MP, Craig Tracey, urged Birmingham Airport the deadline be extended to enable residents the chance to ‘respond accurately to the flight path changes’.
- The Airport has recently come under fire from the affected communities who have said that the quality of the consultation to date was ‘poor’.
Birmingham Airport has responded to calls from local residents and MPs for a fairer flight path consultation by extending the deadline for feedback to November 6th.
The decision came after local MPs Dame Caroline Spelman (Meriden) and Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) jointly approached the Airport on Monday to demand that the consultation closing date is extended.
In a joint letter to the Chief Operating Officer, David Winstanely, the MPs expressed their disappointment following the cancellation of a meeting with local residents. They argued that residents should be given more time to consider the proposals ‘due to the airports approach to the consultation’ and the fact that Birmingham Airport were reported to have amended the proposals during the consultation process.
The decision to extend the consultation has been welcomed by Dame Caroline who said that the Airports actions will "reassure the community that the airport is prepared to listen to and engage with affected residents".
Having recently met with David Winstanley at Birmingham Airport to discuss the impact of the proposed flight paths, Dame Caroline added,
“Throughout this process, I have been working closely with residents to try to secure some important changes to the format of the consultation as well as the flight path proposals. Following my most recent meeting with the Airport, I am pleased to be able to tell local residents that they are considering a number of measures to improve the proposed routes. This includes; increasing the angle of ascent and descent so aircraft are higher over properties more rapidly and for longer, and amending the flight paths to move them further away from habitation before aircraft exit the departure track”.
“Notwithstanding this promising development, I would encourage residents to seize the opportunity by responding to the consultation to ensure that as many voices are heard during this consultation”.
The consultation is available via: https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/about-us/community-and-environment/flight-path-changes-north-runway33/