Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group

Issues: Aircraft Noise Contact us

April 2004

Extracts from 'Aicraft Noise Diary' 1998-2003

BANG supporter Hertta Hussein has been resident of Castle Bromwich since 1978. She has kept the 'Aircraft Noise Diary', from which the following extracts are reproduced, for the last eight years.

16th Aug 1998: It is Sunday and I went to sit in the garden as the weather was nice. What fun? Constant aircraft noise. Recording flights at 1225h, 1227h, 1235h, 1236h, 1245h, 1300h, 1303h, 1307h, 1312h, 1335h, 1350h, 1358h, 1400h, 1405h, 1430h, 1445h, 1450h, 1457h, 1503h, 1505h, 1518h, 1520h, 1525h, 1526h, 1529h, 1540h, 1545h, 1555h, 1559h, 1601h, 1609h, 1610h, 1612h, 1615h, 1617h, 1620h, 1630h, 1635h, 1639h, 1700h. I could not stand it any longer and had to leave my home to get some peace. I have a home but cannot enjoy home life because of the aircraft noise! I have a headache as noise goes on 2240h, 2300h, 2307h.

23rd Aug 1998: Recording flights at 2450h ,0140h, 0535h, 0545h, 0600h. My sleep pattern has been seriously affected by aircraft noise. I wake up in mornings exhausted and tired wishing that I could get some sleep. My nose is blocked and chest feels tight. Mornings are awful. No peace. I have a headache before I start the day.

13th Mar 1999: It is Saturday and time for relaxation to recharge my batteries for the coming week. At 1545h Concorde went over the house and I thought that the world had come to an end. The ground was shaking and the noise was bursting my ears. Pictures fell of the wall. My daughter was very frightened.

31st Mar 1999: Yet another telephone call to Birmingham Airport re: increasing, intolerable aircraft noise.

2nd Apr 1999: At 1150h a huge aircraft flew over the house and the noise was hurting my ears. Aeroplanes are flying every few minutes which I am not recording as otherwise I can get nothing done in the house all day. I reported the noise to Birmingham Airport answer phone to complain and cannot wait to receive a letter to say that the complaint has been logged but there is no law against aircraft noise. I know that by now I should understand this and stop complaining. The Airport has made it very clear that my two options are either to live with the noise or to move.

6th May 2001: Bank Holiday weekend. I have a chest infection and doctor told me to take it easy and rest but it is impossible in my house due to ongoing aircraft noise from morning until midnight. On Bank Holiday Monday I was so stressed out that I just wanted to cry. The weather was nice and I tried to go and sit in the garden to enjoy the sun but the constant aircraft noise was unbearable and I had to go indoors. I can truly say that my day was totally spoilt because of the aircraft noise. I did not feel well enough to leave the house and therefore I was forced to endure the noise feeling completely helpless and powerless with the noise.

22nd Sept 2001: Telephone call to Airport Operations Manager re: aircraft noise 0030h, 0230h, 0330h, 0430h, 0445h, 0500h. He suggested that I move.

30th Sept 2001: Sunday morning 0400h aeroplanes flying over every 5-10 minutes in the past half an hour. I cannot sleep because of the noise. Telephone call to Airport Operations Duty Manager but the telephone operator, once taken my name and address, refused to put me through and said that it was not possible to put me through because they have "tried their very best to help me". Again I requested to speak to the Operations Duty Manager and she put me on hold and left me there.

14th Oct 2001: Telephone call to the Operations Duty Manager but the telephone operator refused to put me through once I gave my name and address as requested.

22nd Oct 2001: I am on annual leave at home but I have no peace due to aircraft noise. Telephone call to the Operations Duty Manager who said that there can be no variation as how the aeroplanes fly. After the call I recorded 2009h, 2012h, 2016h, 2022h, 2031h, 2035h, 2038h, 2040h, 2042h, 2048h, 2051h, 2054h, 2056h, 2058h, 2100h, 2101h, 2107h, up to 2214 and still going on. Do I have right to peaceful life in my own home?

10th Nov 2001: Arrived home from work to aircraft noise and recorded 1743h, 1749h, 1813h, 1823h, 1826h, 1857h, 1905h, 1907h, 1910h, 2015h, 2017h, 2020h, 2034h, 2101h, 2104h, 2108h, 2111h. What is the purpose of having a home?

25th Jan 2002: Arrived home from work and wanted to rest as I had been feeling unwell and tired all day and then developed a headache. It was impossible to rest with the noise from aeroplanes flying over. Instead my headache got worse and my ears were hurting.

28th Mar 2002: Hoping to have an easy, relaxing morning at home reading and listening to music while on annual leave. Impossible! Aircraft noise every 2 minutes. Three telephone calls to the Airport Environmental Unit to report unacceptable levels of noise. Fourth call to Operations Duty Manager 2025 re: noise all day.

29th Mar 2002: Recording 0625h, 0635h, 0656h, 0658h, 0703h, 0715h, 0717h, 0718h, 0719h, 0722h, 0724h, 0730h, 0739h. I went out to escape the noise and returned 1015 to constant noise throughout the day. I feel stressed!

4th Apr 2002: I make a telephone call to the Airport Environmental Unit at 1100h to report deafening aircraft noise. My ears are hurting and I am stressed with the constant noise.

5th Apr 2002: Telephone call to Airport Environmental Unit re: ongoing aircraft noise throughout Easter holiday. I try very hard to hold onto positive attitude to keep going. Helpless. What a way to spend my precious annual leave!

13th May 2002: Telephone call to the Airport Environmental Unit 0800h re: ongoing noise. My ears are hurting with the noise and my stress levels are high before even leaving the house for work. First plane was 0430h. Arrived home from work after a busy day. Aircraft noise just goes on. Telephone call to the Airport Environmental Unit around 1730h re noise.

15th May 2002: First plane 0440h. Unable to get back to sleep as planes flying frequently. I am tired. Life does not seem worth living when you have no peace in your own home.

16th May 2002: Arrived home from work and recorded 1808h, 1810h, 1812h, 1815h, 1817h, 1820h, 1823h, 1826h, 1829h, 1831h, goes on 1915h, 1918h, 1920h, 1923h, 1927h, 1937h, 1951h, 1954h, 1957h, 2010h, 2014h, 2016h, 2019h, 2027h, 2030h, 2033h, 2036h, 2038h, 2040h, 2042h, 2046h, 2047h, 2050h. I am having increased headaches, feeling low and also having chest pains. Every time an aeroplane goes over I can feel tension rising in my body, then going down and waiting with anxiety for the next one to fly over.

17th Jun 2002: Recording 0725h, 0727h, 0729h, 0736h, 0741h, 0743h and then 1704h, 1706h, 1708h, 1710h, 1712h, 1715h, 1722h goes on 1840h, 1843h, 1853h, 1858h, 1900h, 1903h, 1907h, 1918h, 1920h, 1922h, 1926h, 1928h, 1931h, 1935h, 1937h, 1940h, 1947h, 1952h, 1955h, 1959h, 2000h, 2006h, 2019h, 2022h, 2025h, 2033h, 2035h, 2038h, 2040h, 2044h, 2049h, 2051h, 2053h, 2058h, 2100h, 2102h, 2105h, 2109h, 2112h, 2114h, 2120h, 2122h, 2140h, 2143h.

26th Jun 2002: Recording 0701h, 0704h, 0707h, 0712h, 0714h, 0720h, 0724h, 0726h, 0730h, 0737h, 0741h, 0748h and goes on 1743h, 1747h, 1749h, 1751h, 1753h, 1755h, 1759h, 1802h, 1809h, 1810h, 1812h, 1813h, 1826h.

6th-7th July 2002: Saturday. No peace in my home. Aeroplanes flying to this point to turn around. On the afternoon planes flying over the house for landing until 0100h. I make a complaint made to the Airport Environmental Unit.

8th July 2002: Recording 1655h, 1657h, 1700h, 1707h, 1709h, 1722h, 1735h, 1739h. I make another complaint to the Airport Environmental Unit. Stress, pain in ears and helplessness goes on.

10th July 2002: I arrived home from work with a bad headache and went straight to bed. Aeroplanes flying over the house every 2-3 minutes and my headache just got worse. I was in tears with the pain and I was asking myself as where to go to get some peace and quiet. The Airport Duty Manager refused to take my call. Left a message on Environmental Unit answer-phone. What good does it do?

11th Aug 2002: Sunday morning. Noisy plane in the night. Constant noise morning and evening. Recorded 1816h, 1817h, 1819h, 1821h, 1823h, 1825h, 1827h, 1829h, 1830h, 1832h, 1839h, 1841h, 1843h, 1845h, 1847h, 1850h, 1853h, 1855h, 1900h, 1910h, 1913h, 1915h, 1920h, 1925h, 1933h, 1939h- all arrivals. After 2000h planes departing and flying to this point turn around.

12th Aug 2002: Ill in bed. Resting impossible due to constant aircraft noise. Severe headache. What can I do but to suffer in my home.

13th Aug 2002: I telephone the Airport Environmental Unit to explain that I was ill in bed and needed to rest. The officer sympathised with my misery but could offer any help with aircraft noise. Eventually I had to leave the house and went to Asda walking like a zombie just to get away from the noise.

14th Aug 2002: Aeroplanes flying over solid for over 15 hours from about 0630h until late at night, last recording 2340. Here I am in my home trying to recover and to get better so that I can return to work but instead I have not got a moment's peace to rest. Stress levels are high and my ears and head are in ever increasing pain with the noise.

23rd Mar 2003: At 0545h I am woken up by the first plane. Recording 1346h, 1353h, 1355h, 1357h, 1359h, 1408h, 1410h. My ears are hurting. I am trying to read but unable to concentrate because of aircraft noise. It goes on 1425h, 1426h, 1430h, 1435h, 1436h, 1443h, 1445h, 1446h, 1448h, 1452h, 1453h, 1512h, 1600h, 1603h, 1605h, 1613h, 1615h, 1620h. I had to get out of the house away from the noise as there is no home peace in my house due to the aircraft noise.

30th Mar 2003: Mothering Sunday. Recording 0545h, 0550h, 0558h, 0613h. I leave a telephone message with the Environmental Services to report the noise. I cannot sleep because of the noise.

20th Jun 2003: Recording 0710h, 1711h, 1725h, 1727h, 1737h, 1745h, 1752h, 1754h, 1756h, 1757h, 1758h, 1759h, 1800h, 1801h from the Airport to turn around at this point.

9th Jul 2003: Arrived home from work to be greeted by aeroplanes flying low over my home to the Airport 1735h, 1737h, 1745h, 1752h, 1755h. It has been a hot day and I went to sit in the garden to relax, but the aircraft noise is giving me a headache and I feel very distressed. Now planes coming from the Airport to the point where I live and turning to go back 1808h, 1810h, 1813h, 1816h, 1820h, 1824h, 1826h. I went to eat out in the garden under aircraft noise 2010h, 2015h, 2020h, 2014h. I was unable to enjoy my food. Stress levels are just rising as the evening goes on.

13th July 2003: Sunday. Low flying, noisy aeroplanes to the Airport right by the house constant. I left a telephone message with the Environmental Services to report the noise. Recording 1508h, 1510h, 1515h, 1517h, 1520h, 1522h, 1523h, 1524h, 1525h, 1526h, 1527h, 1529h, 1530h, 1537h, 1540h, 1543h, 1550h, 1557h, 1559h, 1602h -1647h, 1650h, 1653h, 1659h. Second telephone message to the Environmental Services at 1705h, to report intolerable, constant noise. It is impossible to enjoy home life because there is no peace from the aircraft noise. More at 1710h, 1713h, 1717h, 1720h - 2310h, 2318h, 2323h.

I am unable to get to sleep because of the aircraft noise 0140h, 0145h, 0150h, 0155h, 0157h, 0210h, 0340h. No sleep all night and I am so distressed. How am I going to manage to get through the day at work? Am I able to get ready to go to work? I am trying to calm myself down and to take control, but the noise is just driving me out of my mind. This is quite clearly affecting my physical and mental health. I can feel my blood pressure going up with the stress caused by intolerable, constant noise that controls my home life.

14th July 2003: Difficult to manage the day at work. I felt very tired and knew I was not functioning properly. When I got home from work in the evening, continuous aircraft noise all evening. My whole being is screaming for help.

16th July 2003: Got home from work 1705h and sat down hoping to relax after exhausting day at work Recording 1706h, 1708h, 1710h, 1713h, 1718h, 1720h, 1723h, 1725h, 1727h, 1729h. Telephone message left to the Environmental Services to complaint about unacceptable levels of noise from aeroplanes flying low over the house to the Airport. More 1732h, 1745h, 1748h, 1753h, 1800h, 1814h -1843h, 1845h, 1848h, 1854h, 1859h, 1901h, 1905h, 1909h, 1911h, 1913h, 1917h, 1920h, 1921h-1939h, 1943h.

21st July 2003: Recording 0205h, 0210h, 0215h, 0220h, 0225h. I telephone the Operations Duty Manager Patrick McDermett re: noise. He apologised for the noise. I said that I was very distressed by the noise and concerned how I was going to get to work without sleep. My health is affected by the noise. He said that he could do no more than report the noise. I had a couple of hours sleep and went to work feeling tired and looking dreadful.

9th Aug 2003: Saturday morning. Aircraft noise started before 0600h and was continuous after that. I leave a telephone message with the Environmental Services at 0830h to report the constant noise which prevented my having any peace in my own home. More 0839h, 0845h - 1005h, 1009h. Planes flying from the Airport to the point where I live and turning to go back all morning. I just had to leave the house to give myself a break from the noise. When I came back I recorded 1210h, 1215h, 1217h, 1220h, 1222h, 1225h, 1227h, 1229h, 1231h, 1233h, 1238h, 1243h, 1245h, 1248h, 1252h, 1303h. All planes flying low. Flying from Airport directly by the side of the house in straight line with max of a metre or two variation. More at 1310h, 1319h, 1325h, 1327h, 1330h, 1333h, 1340h, 1344h, 1346h, 1350h.

I leave another telephone message with the Environmental Services to report constant aircraft noise. It's 1406h and planes are now coming from the Airport to turn to the right or to the left at 1409h, 1412h, 1415h, 1425h, 1430h, 1435h, 1440h, 1442 to the Airport 1705h, 1715h, 1721h, 1745h, 1746h, 1751h, 1757h until 0000h. I had a headache and I felt very troubled and distressed by the constant aircraft noise. There is no need for the planes to fly this far from the Airport because they CAN turn right or left much earlier.

10th Aug 2003: Sunday. Planes from the Airport. I woke up with a headache. Planes at 0840h, 0842h, 0843h, 0845h, 0847h. Trying to watch a church service on TV but impossible to hear with constant aircraft noise. More at 0850h, 0858h, 0903h, 0905h, 0907h, 0909h, 0913h, 0915h, 0918h. My home is not my home!

4th Sept 2003: Woke up to the aircraft noise this morning and it went on all morning. Left the house to go to work with a headache. Arrived home from work after 1600h to aircraft noise. I telephoned the Environmental Services to report constant noise. Aeroplanes flying to the Airport by the side of the house every two minutes. My headache is worse with the noise. I make a second call to the Environmental Services at 2030h to report constant noise which is making me ill. I have had no peace in my home. Planes at 2032h, 2035h, 2037h, 2039h.

I am trying to watch TV but unable to hear because of the constant aircraft noise 2043h, 2046h, 2049h, 2051h, 2054h, 2056h. Planes flying unbelievably low, sweeping the rooftops. Deafening noise 2136h, 2138h. My head is hurting badly and I would like to go to bed but I know I will not be able to rest. Stress levels high. More at 2142h, 2217h, 2223h, 2226h, 2430h, 0330h. Woke up in the morning with my ears ringing.

5th Sept 2003: Woke up to the aircraft noise which continued all morning until left the house to go to work. Returned home 1620h to ongoing aircraft noise. I leave a telephone message with the Environmental Services to report the noise.

6th Sept 2003: Saturday. No peace because of aircraft noise. Unable to stay in bed, tried to read but could not concentrate because of the aircraft noise, which is overpowering. Stress levels already high before 0800h on Saturday morning! Telephone message to the Environmental Services to report the disturbing noise, which controls my home life. Planes coming from the Airport every 2 minutes to this point to turn around. My ears are aching with the noise and I am very distressed.

7th Sept 2003: Woke up in the night to the aircraft noise several times, but did not put light on to record times. Noise is driving me out of my mind. I long to have peace and quiet in my home to enjoy my home life and to relax after busy working week. I cannot even enjoy eating meals in the house because the noise is so upsetting. My health is at serious risk.