By Kyle Farrell
July 15 2020, 20.45
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Twickenham residents are sleeping better since fewer planes are taking off and landing at Heathrow Airport, a recent survey found.
95% of Twickenham respondents were generally positive about quieter flight paths, with 68% saying their sleep was negatively impacted by plane noise.
Heathrow Airport saw flights cut from 600 a day to 60 during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown March-April.
One respondent said: “We can get a decent night’s sleep without being woken up several times in the night now.
“We all feel better for it and are more productive as a result.
“We are also less grumpy so are getting along much better.”
The survey – which also asked other nearby London postcodes – revealed 82% noticed cleaner air and positive impacts on mental health.
Anna Hansell, professor in environmental epidemiology at the University of Leicester, said: “Lockdown resulted in a remarkable natural experiment, giving an unprecedented reduction in transport levels.
“While there has been a lot of media attention to the drop in air pollution during lockdown, there was also a large reduction in transport noise.”
Dr Hansell notes that around 2,500 people found fewer flights to be positive with only 100 negative responses out of the 3,419 people surveyed.
From March, flights were either cancelled due to low demand or closed borders because of the Coronavirus.
Air bridges – locations people can travel to and from without having to isolate for 14 days – came into effect on July 10 with more than 50 popular tourist destinations included.
