9 January 2013

Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.

EASYJET has agreed to changes which will see its aircraft taking off from Gatwick in an easterly direction after town councillors lobbied on behalf of Imberhorne residents whose lives were being disrupted by aircraft noise.

Flights will also take off at a sharper incline than before and climb higher much faster.​

Complaints about aircraft noise had risen by 500 per cent over the past year, with 2,000 households in the north east of the town believed to be suffering from early morning and late evening disturbance.

But after meetings with the budget airline, Cllr Heidi Brunsdon said she hoped residents would notice a real reduction in noise levels over their homes.

“We had a discussion with easyJet’s operations manager at Gatwick about the increased noise levels over East Grinstead and suggested that easyJet could implement changes which would put planes at a higher altitude over East Grinstead.

“I had looked at Radar 24, which tracks live flights online, which showed easyJet was flying at a lower altitude over the town than other airlines. Altitude is a consideration when it comes to noise as the thrusters are still going and a more acute take-off would limit the noise, so easyJet agreed to go back to the simulator and work out a compromise.”