Complaint Handling

An Introduction

Rushmoor Borough Council, subject to a number of conditions, granted permission for the redevelopment of Farnborough Airport, into a civil licensed dedicated business airport.  The conditions were the subject of a Town and Country Planning Act Section 106/299A agreement signed by both parties.  One of the stipulations of this agreement was the submission and agreement with Rushmoor of preferred noise routes, and the enforcement of such routes. 

 Paragraph 9 and 9a of the agreement set out the council’s requirements for complaint handling at the airport.  Paragraph 9a reads: -

 “The company shall keep a record of all complaints it receives, including the name, address, contact details of the complainant and detail of the complaint, regarding noise, air quality, odour, track keeping and alleged vortex damage.  It shall also keep a record of the Company’s response in terms of its timing, details as to the cause(s)of the complaint and the action taken, if any, to remedy the situation.”

 TAG has therefore implemented and published Noise Abatement Procedures that include preferred noise routes for aircraft arriving and departing the airport, a complaints handling procedure, and a mechanism for addressing unauthorised failures to comply with the noise abatement procedures. 

 

 

Track-keeping and Compliance

All aircraft radar tracks are assessed for compliance with the noise abatement procedures.  Checks are made against the required glidepath angle and coarse sector signal zone along the extended runway centreline for all arrivals using the ILS.  Helicopters are subject to different procedures.  Light aircraft (those with Maximum Take off Weights of less than 5700kg) are not required to comply with noise abatement procedures.

 

Aircraft are on occasion authorised to undertake visual approaches when (in the case of Arrivals) they may not follow the extended runway centreline, but should follow the 3.5° approach angle indicated by the visual aids on the airfield.

Departures are assessed for compliance with the relevant sections of the procedures as published in the UK AIP (Aeronautical Information Publication) as relevant to the departure runway in use (i.e. for r/way 06 paragraph AD 2-EGLF-1-9 c and e, for r/way 24 Paragraph AD 2-EGLF-1-9 c.) 

 

Tracks can be categorised as follows:

 Compliant      

• 1b) arrival – visual approach authorised by ATC.

• 1c) departure – follows Noise Abatement Procedures.

• 1a) arrival – approach within the parameters of the ILS signal.

• 1d) departure - cancellation of the Noise Abatement Procedures authorised by ATC.

 Non-compliant    

• 2a) arrival – approach outside the parameters of the ILS signal.

• 2b) arrival – visual approach not authorised by ATC.

• 2c) departure – does not follow Noise Abatement Procedures.

• 2d) departure – does not follow ATC instructions after cancellation of Noise Abatement Procedures.

 Infringement Procedure

 On concluding an aircraft undertook an unauthorised manoeuvre, TAG addresses the aircraft operating company at an operational level to request an explanation of the reason behind the non-compliance.

 Failure to provide this information, or to satisfy TAG as to the manner in which the non compliance has been dealt with leads to the raising of the issue with the aircraft operating company’s directors.  The ultimate sanction available to the airport is to restrict their use of the airport.  This is available as a result of the CAA Ordinary License held by TAG at the airport.

 

Complaints Procedure

 A dedicated telephone line (01252 526001) has been provided on which interested parties may leave details of complaints and queries.  Once received all complaints (as far as is practicable) are investigated within a day of their receipt.    

 Any such investigations are carried out in addition to daily checks on compliance by aircraft with the requirements of the preferred noise routes.  Non-compliances detected by either exercise are subject to the infringement procedure outlined above.

 Rushmoor Borough Council, through their enforcement role of the Public Nuisance Legislation, (Part III of the Environment Protection Act 1990), may receive complaints directly from members of the public.  All complaints received are investigated in full by TAG.  The Council is under obligation through Paragraph 2.1 of Schedule 2 of their Section 106/299A Agreement with TAG, to pass details of any such complaints received to TAG within 24 hours of their receipt. 

 

Full details of actions taken at every stage of both investigation and enforcement of reported issues are maintained by TAG.  These details are recorded in reports sent to Rushmoor Borough Council (under Paragraph 9b of the Section 106/299A Agreement) and to the Farnborough Aerodrome Consultative Committee (FACC) meetings.

 

 These reports can be found here.