'Campaign plane' lands in London streets as locals roar back against Heathrow plans

A silver Airstream 'campaign plane' embarked on a month-long tour of London and the Thames Valley this morning to record the voices of people opposed to expansion at Heathrow. The trailer tour will land across the capital as the government prepares to launch a consultation into plans for a third runway at the airport.

Thousands of Londoners' voices will be collected during the tour and computer-digitised then blared through loud-speakers at representatives of the aviation industry and government - reversing the noise experienced daily by millions of people living under Heathrow's flightpaths.

The tour - organised by Greenpeace - was launched in the village of Sipson today with the local MP, John McDonnell. The village is the site of the proposed third runway where thousands of protesters gathered earlier this year for the Climate Camp. Scores of voices have already been recorded and roared back at a volume approaching 100 decibels outside the headquarters of aviation companies today.

The 'campaign plane' is showing a film detailing why Heathrow expansion would be an environmental disaster, while Greenpeace campaigners are on hand to answer questions about the campaign. The tour will continue over the next month including stopovers at the Lord Mayor's Show, Hampstead, Clapham, Windsor, Brick Lane, the South Bank as well as many other places.

Emily Armistead, Greenpeace Senior Transport Campaigner said: "The fight to block a third runway at Heathrow is now one of the biggest environmental battles in Europe, and it's one we intend to win. For too long the government and its friends in the aviation industry like British Airways have ignored concerns over climate change and the pleas of locals who stand to lose their homes. The Greenpeace tour will make sure Londoners' voices are heard, quite literally."

She continued:

"You can't build a new runway at Heathrow and still claim to be serious about fighting climate change. Flying is the fastest growing source of emissions in this country and needs to be tackled, yet this new runway is being built to cater for flights where the train is a perfectly viable alternative. We're collecting voices of opposition from across London and the south-east and we'll be blasting them back at the people trying to get this runway built."

British flyers already create far more carbon emissions per head than those from any other country - nearly 40 per cent higher than the second placed country, Ireland, and more than twice as much as Americans. Last month a new coalition comprising groups as diverse as the National Trust and the London Mayor's office was formed to fight the government's plans. The Stop Heathrow Expansion campaign is supported by groups representing millions of people. Even people that use the airports don't want to see them expand - in a new MORI poll almost 70 per cent of people that fly in the UK say there's no need to build new runways.

Speaking about the tour local MP John McDonnell said:

"This brilliant initiative will really assist in spreading the word about the implications of a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow not just for the devastation it will cause to the environment of local communities along the flightpath but also globally to speeding climate change. The more people hear about the environmental impact of aviation expansion the more opposition there is to new runway plans."

For more contact Greenpeace on 0207 865 8255

Photo and video available

The Video Wall can be found at www.greenpeace.org.uk/heathrow

Notes to editors

A third runway would greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions from Heathrow, and is entirely unnecessary. Paris and Manchester, first and fifth most popular destinations out of Heathrow, are responsible for almost 100 flights per day on routes where the equivalent train journey is actually faster. Adding other flights to locations easily accessible by train such as Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Brussels, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford and Durham Tees Valley, then over 100,000 flights could be transferred to routes where traveling by train is a viable alternative.

The Tyndall climate research centre calculates that if aviation expands as projected, Britain will have to totally decarbonise the rest of its economy by 2050 to effectively tackle climate change. Because aviation emissions are released at altitude they do far more damage to the climate than co2 emitted at ground level.

A third runway will cause 750 homes to be flattened, including the complete demolition of the village of Sipson, and will increase levels of NOx pollution. NOx is linked to increased instances of asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis. Heathrow is already in danger of breaching EU limits on NOx levels.