OUR PROPOSALS
Benefits and impacts
How we assessed our proposal
When assessing the benefits and impacts of the proposed ‘with airspace change’ option against the ‘without airspace change’ baseline, CAP1616 requires us to look at the overall airport system performance. It is important we show how the departure and arrival components work together.
Which areas will be overflown based on these proposals?
The image on the “Overall ‘with airspace change’ option” banner, shows all the proposed departure and arrival procedures with an average summer day overflight contour.
While overflight contours do not indicate noise impacts, they allow us to calculate the frequency of aircraft flying over a given location, illustrating the areas affected by both departure and arrival procedures for each runway.
Overflight contours are calculated over a 92-day summer period (from 16 June to 15 September inclusive) where the airport is at its busiest.
Proposals
Representation of ‘being overflown’
What is the average summer day overflight contour?
This is known as the ‘LAeq’, and is a measure of the total sound energy in decibels (dB) spread over a period of time. It is calculated over a 92- day summer (from 16 June to 15 September inclusive) where the airport is at its busiest. The LAeq is the most important metric for assessing aviation noise impacts, as research from the Civil Aviation Authority has shown that the LAeq has the strongest correlation with noise and health effects.
Just like the contours on Ordnance Survey maps indicate areas of equal height, noise contours represent areas of equal noise exposure. These contours help visualise on a map which areas will experience specific noise exposure levels when displaying these LAeq contours.
Benefits and impacts
The information set out below provides a very high-level summary of the outcomes of the Full Options Appraisal for the proposed option. You can find more information on the assessment categories in Section 8 of our Main Consultation Document.
Noise
Overall reduction in total adverse effects on health and quality of life from noise.*
Air quality
Negligible impact on local air quality.
Greenhouse gas
Reduce total annual and per flight Greenhouse Gas emissions.
Tranquility
No significant change to the perception of tranquillity.
Biodiversity
No biodiversity impacts expected to nearby sites.
Capacity
Improve capacity and result in fewer departure delays.
Resilience
Improve resilience through modern procedures.
General Aviation Access
Net release of Controlled Airspace below 7,000ft.
Economic
Economic benefits expected through reduced departure delays.
Fuel burn
Reduce total annual and per flight fuel burn.
Airline costs
No additional costs for airlines anticipated.
Airport and ANSP costs
Anticipated operational cost for Glasgow Airport for maintenance and training.
Safety
Maintain, and in some areas, enhance safety.
Airspace Modernisation Strategy
Our proposed options aims to meet the vision of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.
* It is important to note that in some areas the proposed option changes where aircraft fly compared to today. There could therefore be local positive benefits and negative impacts to some areas surrounding Glasgow Airport. These local impacts are fully explained in the Full Options Appraisal.