Toronto Star - September 26, 1997, Pg. B1
'Secret' flights attacked
Pearson boss denies noisy jets will fly in 24 hours a day.
By Mike Funston
Toronto Star Staff ReporterPearson International Airport will never become a 24-hour operation for big passenger jets, airport boss Louis Turpen says.
But a balance must be struck between residents' noise concerns and the need to develop the airport's economic potential by adding more night flights, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority president said last night.
Speaking to a sometimes hostile audience at a public briefing on the secret night flight testing program conducted over the past eight months, Turpen tried to reassure residents the area won't become a noise hell.
``We'll take back your comments and look at how we can revise our proposals before formalizing our noise management agreement with the airlines,'' Turpen promised about 200 residents at the Airport Holiday Inn.
My bloody house shakes when the aircraft go overhead. Does an increase in profits take precedence over our health? No areas . . . are immune from this barrage.'- Eric Greenspoon at meeting on night flight testing.
That will be done in the next 90 to 120 days, he said.
But some at the meeting were skeptical of the promises and lashed out at the night testing, a secret until revealed only last month.
``What gives you the right to deprive residents of the Greater Toronto Area of their sleep?'' asked North York resident Eric Greenspoon, referring to aircraft noise as "hellish torture."
``My bloody house shakes when the aircraft go overhead. Does an increase in profits take precedence over our health? No areas of North York are immune from this barrage,'' Greenspoon said.
A 900-signature petition from Etobicoke residents opposing expansion of night flights was presented to Turpen at the meeting.
And Ken Burford, president of the Toronto-based Citizens Coalition Against Noise, lambasted Turpen for what he termed inadequate notice given to the public about the time and location of the meeting.
``I consider it very unprofessional,'' he said.
Burford added that aircraft noise is a ``Greater Toronto issue, not just a Mississauga, Etobicoke and Brampton issue,'' and demanded that no expansion of operations be permitted without a study of health effects on the population.
Gordon Stewart, a Mississauga resident and also a pilot, said residents should have the opportunity to air their ``considerable concerns'' before any new policies are implemented.
But Stewart also conceded that the airport authority ``mustn't be throttled,'' in its efforts to develop a modern and efficient operation.
The secret tests, involving two arrivals of so-called quieter Chapter 3 jets - in this case retrofitted Boeing 727s - at 5:15 and 5:45 a.m., from Mondays through Saturdays, resulted in only 25 complaints, he said.
And eight of those occurred during a week in August when news reports of the testing program broke.
During this period, the authority earned an extra $220,000 in revenue from the air carriers, which also achieved undisclosed savings in their operations, according to the authority's report.
Normal night flight restrictions occur between midnight and 7 a.m., but the quieter jets are allowed to operate until 1 a.m. and from 6 a.m.
Exceptions for all aircraft are allowed based on emergencies, or delays caused by weather or mechanical problems.
The night flight restrictions do not apply to smaller (under 34,000 kilograms) turboprop or jet aircraft.
On Aug. 29, Transport Minister David Collenette said there were no plans for ending the restrictions currently in effect.
``A change would have to be authorized by Transport Canada, and there are no plans to do that,'' he said.
Turpen said the secret testing was required to get valid results. Some complaints were received early in the program because airlines weren't following the precise flight paths prescribed, but this was corrected and the number of complaints dropped.
If these procedures could be implemented on a wider scale without causing discomfort for area residents, it could result in another $30 million in annual economic benefits, Turpen said.
``We have rejected a number of (proposed) night-time operations that were incompatible,'' with noise policy, he said.
He noted that by the year 2002, 100 per cent of passenger jet aircraft using Pearson must be the Chapter 3 variety. Currently only 65 per cent fall into this category.
But these aircraft cost $40 million to $50 million each, and so the airlines are pressuring Pearson authorities to allow them to make greater use of these expensive assets, Turpen said.
Passenger traffic at Pearson is on the upswing again after dipping to 19 million a year in 1993. It's expected to hit 25 million this year, Turpen said.