What on earth is all the fuss about over the expansion of Southend Airport?

By the time Southend Council has made up its mind whether to grant planning permission for the runway extension or not, most of the objectors will probably be pushing up daisies!

One only has to look at the years that have gone by since the disastrous pier head fire (not the station one, the one before that) and still no real decision or even an idea of what to do.

So much for wasting money on the town reinventing itself. And to go back to the Blues’ application for a new stadium how long has that taken to be approved?

They nearly finished up going to Basildon!

Why is it that most of the objections seem to be coming from areas not so close to the flight path, and those for it seem to be underneath it like myself ?

As for the noise, try sitting in your garden of a weekend when light aircraft are flying over at the rate of one every minute.

They seem to drone on for ages, whereas a jet flying over seems to be gone very quickly, due to it’s faster takeoff speed and climbing rate.

I would rather fly from my local airport, than enlarge my carbon footprint by travelling 80 miles each way to Gatwick or any of the London Airports, and paying astronomical parking costs, when I can go to my local airport by taxi.

The way for air travel to go is to put shorthaul flights out to local airports and leave the major airports to cope with longhaul flights.

The bigger airports would then have no need to expand as the capacity would be reduced by local flights.

If the airport was to obtain the right permissions, you could fly anywhere in the world from Southend by flying first to Amsterdam and then onwards.

The expansion which should have happened years ago. Bring it on.

Clive Wood
Hazelwood Grove
Leigh

...I am really looking forward to going on holiday from Southend Airport.

We shall be able to get up in the morning, having had a good night’s sleep undisturbed by night flights, freight trains or heavy trucks, travel to the airport using green transport, not disturbing anyone.

We could then fly off to Spain on modern, silent aircraft from an airport that has houses closer to it than just about any other airport in the UK, and still not disturb anyone!

It’s so simple! Oops, mind that low-flying pig! And what’s that over there? Oh, it’s the Stobart Trojan Horse!

Susan Bailey
Collins Way
Eastwood