HACAN update February 2011

The main news is that we have launched our campaign for a ban on night flights before 6am and a progressive reduction between 6 and 7am. We held a successful launch in the House of Commons at a meeting chaired by Zac Goldsmith MP and attended by 45 people including a number of MPs and their researchers. It received good coverage in the London media. See night flight campaign news below for more details of the campaign.

We have teamed up with Political Wizard to enable people to email their MPs and MEPs at the click of a couple of buttons to ask for their support. Check it out on our website – www.hacan.org.uk Let your friends know about it!

The Government will start to scope out its aviation policy this year. We have been invited to submit our ideas. I have a meeting with the Aviation Minister Theresa Villiers next month. Full public consultation on the new policy will take place in early 2012.

I have also met with Maria Eagle, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. They are reviewing all their policies over the summer. At present it is still official party policy to support a 3rd runway. We have been invited to put our views to them. As part of that process I have been asked to speak at a major conference on Saturday: http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/grounded-a-session-on-the... If people want to come to the conference details are here: http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/prolondon-conference-2011...

Night Flight Campaign News

• Later this year the Government is expected to consult on a new night flight regime at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick to replace the current agreement with the airlines which runs out in October 2012.
• A major report launched in the House of Commons on 27th January shows that a ban on night flights at Heathrow before 6am could be expected to have overall benefits for the wider economy. The new report, commissioned by HACAN from the respected Dutch economists CE Delft, has found that a night flight ban before 6am could benefit the national economy by as much as £860 million over a 10 year period. The big savings would be in the monetary costs associated with sleep deprivation. Because of the huge number of people living under the Heathrow night flight path, these savings could be expected to outweigh any loss of income to the aviation industry. CE Delft argues that the national economy would only be harmed if none of the passengers who currently arrive on the flights before 6am failed to transfer to flights arriving at other times. If that were to take place, the national economy could lose up to £35 million over a 10 year period, but the report states that the chances of that happening are “highly unlikely”. Read the full report.
• We followed up the economics report by issuing a compilation of emails from members and supporters of the impact night flights has on their lives. Thanks to this of you who sent emails in. The full compilation is on our website.
• A new study from Warwick University has found that sleep deprivation increases the risk of people suffering from a stroke or a heart attack - Sleep deprivation increases stroke and heart disease risk.