Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise

Helicopters - a continuing problem

Many complaints concern noise from helicopters flying between the Airport and the Visual Reporting Point (VRP) at junction 9 of the M1. We accept that noise nuisance from helicopters increased hugely following the 2005 Government decision to permit aircraft to fly as low as 1,000 feet above built-up areas. The Airport operator reduced this deterioration in the local noise environment by establishing the junction 9 VRP in 2007. However, this resulted in helicopter flights being concentrated on a route which passes over north-west Harpenden, much to the annoyance of those living there.

For safety reasons, helicopters in the vicinity of the Airport are not allowed to fly above 1500 feet above sea level which means that, because much of the area is over 400 feet above sea level, there is no opportunity to reduce the noise nuisance by getting them to fly higher.

The Airport operator states that the majority of the helicopters causing this nuisance are not en route to or from the Airport but are in transit through locally-controlled airspace. As a result, it does not have a contractual relationship with their operators which it can use to influence flying behaviour. This is probably true but LADACAN does not accept that this absolves the operator of responsibility for the matter as, in our view, it is the requirement to negotiate Airport-controlled airspace which both restricts the height at which helicopters may fly and concentrates them on this particular route.

If you are plagued by helicopter noise, you may find our “frequently asked questions” section useful.