Over 2,000 have say on Luton Airport arrival routes
It's the latest phase of the site's growth
Luton Airport's expansion is edging closer, after over 2,400 people had their say.
This consultation was all about arrival routes - changing them to add capacity and enhance safety as the site expands.
Bosses say they've listened to concerns, which included where planes would circle whilst waiting to land and increases in fuel use.
They also reckon holding online meetings, instead of in person, means more voices have been heard as they put final designs together, hoping to balance community needs and the environment.
The next step is to complete a final design report, that uses this feedback to address the main points, followed by a full options appraisal.
These three steps - the consultation, feedback report and final options appraisal - will complete Stage 4A of CAP1616, the "we asked, you said, we did" stages of the consultation process.
Following that, the final design proposal should be delivered to the CAA later this month (June 2021). Subject to CAA regulatory approval, the proposal is planned for implementation no earlier than February 2022.
The joint consultation, co-sponsored by London Luton Airport and air traffic control provider NATS, consulted on two options to simplify and modernise the arrival routes for flights into the UK's fifth busiest airport and segregate them from Stansted's, ensuring safety.
In response to the restrictions in place because of Covid-19, the consultation had an increased online presence to still allow for engagement with the majority of stakeholders.
More than 11,000 people visited the virtual exhibition during the consultation period and 10 live interactive broadcast webinars were held for the public to ask questions directly to subject matter experts.
To inform those members of the public who are not online, advertisements were placed in local newspapers and magazines and leaflets detailing the proposal, how to access paper consultation material and how to provide a postal response were offered to local representative groups.
Neil Thompson, Operations Director at London Luton Airport, said:
"We believe that the digital consultation resulted in greater engagement than would have been possible with more traditional methods, such as town hall meetings.
"Over 2,400 people and organisations were able to express their views and input into the proposal, which will duly influence the final design; and which we believe will prioritise safety as well as balancing the needs of the community and the environment."