Controversial Edinburgh Airport trial hailed a success
The trial of a controversial new departure route to increase capacity at Edinburgh Airport has been hailed a success.
The trial of a controversial new departure route to increase capacity at Edinburgh Airport has been hailed a success.
The six-month trial started in June last year and saw planes take off in a south-westerly direction before turning right towards the River Forth and climbing above water before flying back over land at approximately 13,000ft.
A report from the airport said the TUTUR route helped to relieve aircraft congestion and make the runway more efficient''.
Two three-month consultations and an environmental impact assessment will be held if airport bosses decide to make the route permanent.
Almost 8,000 complaints were made during the trial from 567 individuals, but more than half were about aircraft operating on flight paths that have existed since the 1970s, the airport said.
A spokesman added that 40% of complaints received came from just five individuals.
Edinburgh is Scotland's busiest airport with more than 11 million passengers passing through the terminal last year.
An airport spokesman said: The report published today shows the viability of one-minute separation times between departing aircraft from Edinburgh Airport during our peak periods - this presents a great opportunity for us to meet the demands of Scotland's growing international reputation and will enable us to create more jobs and help grow the economy.
While the trial was a success - there is still work to do both technically and with our neighbouring communities.
We will continue to work very closely with Nats (air traffic control body) to address the anomalies which will enable us to meet the demand that comes with running Scotland's busiest airport.
The majority of complaints received during the trial period came from a relatively small number of people who live in pockets of communities in West Lothian.
While the majority of these complaints did not relate to flights on the TUTUR flight path - we take our neighbours' concerns seriously.
Our decision on TUTUR will be not be taken hastily. The trial has allowed us to collect data to inform that decision and should we decide to progress for a permanent change we shall have two three-month periods of full consultation, an environmental impact assessment and further rigorous tests.
All options will be considered and views listened to before we come to our decision later in the year.''