Seems that this is one of the busiest time for Heathrow arrivals, when planes bank and descend over the area. are there more, are they louder?
We often do get the early morning arrivals into Heathrow but it's not every day as there are several flight paths and they are usually changed every few hours. However certain weather conditions especially wind strength and direction can affect which runways have to be used and may lead to a certain flight path being used for longer than usual. But I'd be surprised if there are more early morning flights now than during the same period in 2019 which was the last year before Covid struck and airline flights were substantially curtailed for almost 2 years. The skies over SE23 were markedly quieter during 2020 and most of 2021 which I guess we all got used to, so with air traffic picking up more in 2022 many are now noticing the aircraft sounds again.
We never used to be under Heathrow flight path
I've lived in Forest Hill for over 30 years and we've always been under one of the flight paths to Heathrow in that time. I remember often hearing the roar of Concorde going over us when I was at home at weekends about 5.30pm.
both airports are now up to fully capacity again
Heathrow is far from being at full capacity I'm afraid!
The Guardian reported on Wednesday:
Heathrow said passenger numbers were likely to hit 60-62 million this year, 25% lower than in 2019. The airport does not expect a return to pre-pandemic levels of demand for “a number of years”, except at peak times, because of a combination of worsening global economic conditions, the war in Ukraine and the impact of Covid-19 on travel habits. In 2019, a record 81 million passengers used Heathrow, a level its chief executive predicts will not be reached until 2025 or 2026
Full article:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022...-christmas