The Municipal Council in Jeddah is to meet next week with the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss concerns that expansions to King Abdul Aziz International Airport could lead to high levels of noise and environmental pollution. Municipality president Tariq Fad'aq said that the council wished to broach the subjects of noise and environmental pollution for which, he said, no regulations had been put in place. “The current expansion at the airport will change the geography of the city, as the entrance to the airport will reach Prince Majed Street, an area of high population density,” Fad'aq said. “Districts are also moving northwards towards the airport, and this will expose new residential areas to high take-off and landing noise levels,” he said, noting that some airports such as Heathrow in London and Brussels Airport close for specified periods to protect local residents from noise pollution. Also tabled for discussion at next week's meeting is the environmental damage caused by aircraft dumping fuel before landing, a practice permitted along certain flight lanes at high altitudes in order to reduce excess weight prior to landing. “This is something which is permitted by many airports in the advanced world, but is not common in the Kingdom, and we will be seeking its restriction to certain regions to protect the environment,” Fad'aq said. The municipal council, according to the council head, hopes Jeddah can be one of the first cities to put in place laws to curb noise and environmental pollution caused by aircraft. “The people of Jeddah are no less important than the people of other cities in the world,” Fad'aq said.
