Residents living under the flight path of a premier private jet hub are up in arms over proposals to significantly increase the number of weekend and bank holiday flights, accusing the airport of favouring the ultra-wealthy over local communities.
Luxury Travel vs. Local Lives
Farnborough Airport in Hampshire has submitted a planning application seeking permission to raise its annual weekend and bank holiday flight limit from 8,900 to 13,500. This represents an increase of thousands of flights per year at an airport already ranked among Europe's busiest for private aviation, frequented by celebrities like Tom Cruise, Kim Kardashian, and Steven Spielberg.
Colin Shearn, 64, founder of the Farnborough Noise Group, described the extravagant use of the facility. "You wouldn't believe it - people get private jets for a day to Nice in France, spend a few hours on the beach, and then come back," he said. He also noted the arrival of jets "full of dogs" from services like British K9 Jets, the world's first pet-dedicated private charter.
"I got involved from an environmental perspective," Colin added, "because of the small number of people who are causing huge amounts of emissions."
A Summer of Discontent for New Residents
For those new to the area, the reality has been a shock. Sushil Rajbhandari, 54, who moved to Farnborough six months ago, said his first summer was ruined by relentless noise. "We couldn't believe it. It is almost non-stop in the summer, you can't enjoy time in the garden," he explained. "These planes I'm talking about are not business planes - they're private for the extremely wealthy and it's not fair on residents."
Other locals echoed his frustration. Mona Cowie, 64, argued the billionaires "bring nothing to the local economy apart from dust and dirt, which we inhale. You can smell the fuel all the time." Her neighbour, Irene Longman, 72, lamented increased light pollution, stating, "Money has taken over, plain and simple."
Airport Defence and Community Concerns
While campaigners insist the airport is becoming a VIP leisure hub, a spokesperson for Farnborough Airport contended that leisure flights are "very much in the minority," with 80% of traffic directly or indirectly related to business. The application, they said, addresses "long-term demand" as flights are displaced from congested commercial airports.
However, the airport's own marketing undermines this claim. Private jet firms like Luna Jets actively promote Farnborough for luxury trips, such as the convenient route from Nice to the village "less than a half hour from London."
Residents also fear practical repercussions. Matthew Evans, 46, who gets his garden trees trimmed for free by airport contractors due to their height, worries about potential house price drops if expansion proceeds. Peter Jennings, 70, a long-term resident since 1986, noted the transformation from a "weekend gliding club to a weekend VIP club" and shared concerns about property values.
The airport, owned by Australian investment firm Macquarie, operated nearly 30,000 flights last year against a 50,000 annual cap. The proposed change would allow it to schedule more flights on weekends without exceeding its total yearly limit, a move that has already sparked protests, including one featuring climate activist Greta Thunberg last January.
