Airport chiefs from Southampton answered residents questions at a special ‘Ask the Airport’ session last night (Thursday 9 February).
The event, organised and chaired by Winchester and Chandler’s Ford MP Steve Brine, brought SIA’s chief operating officer Steve Szalay to Colden Common Community Centre as the airport pushes ahead with its long planned runway extension.
Around 120 people heard discussion around those plans, future noise impact and the ongoing Airspace Change programme which is considering flights routes into all UK airports.
The meeting also heard about the exciting ‘Jet Zero’ agenda which promised a new generation of planes powered by electricity and SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel).
Steve Brine said; “These ‘Ask’ meetings are such a good opportunity for constituents to engage directly with some of the key people impacting on our lives.
“Southampton Airport is an asset to our area, whether that be employment or connectivity to Europe and the North of our country, but there’s a cost to that in terms of noise and current environmental impact. It was good to discuss all of that in a, largely, sensible and measured way.”
Steve Szalay added; “Delighted to be asked to attend and given the opportunity to present the airports case for change.
“It’s an exciting few years she’s with the extension freeport, Solent cluster and the route to net zero through Sustainable aviation fuels and zero emissions flight.
“Naturally, not everyone agrees but I hope people appreciated the opportunity to put their views across.”
You can view all of Steve Brine’s Ask Series meetings and watch the short-films at www.stevebrine.com/askseries
