A £40M investment has been committed to airport planning and extension. The design of the flight paths was due to new navigation and tracking devices that no longer supported the Hampton Turn. Public consultation was undertaken in 2013 with Meriden residents in the Village Hall.
Currently there are a number of trials on-going at different airports nationally transitioning from ground based navigation to satellite navigation or RVAV (area navigation), with Birmingham Airport as an early adopter. Birmingham Airport’s trials will commence in April 2014. There are currently 6,000 flights of which 15% will adopt the new route flying at 6-8,000 feet.
Birmingham Airport stressed to the parish council the importance of communicating with residents and they advised this can be via a dedicated community Twitter account @bhx_community, their website www.birminghamairport.co.uk , a community impact programme providing feedback subscribing to community impact email alerts at community@birminghamairport.co.uk and their environmental helpline 0121 767 7433.
