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Posted by Graham Spence on Jan 9, 12 05:00 PM in Have your say

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2 Comments

Rita Stapleton said:

I cannot believe the noise the planes now based at RAF Northolt are creating. Nor do I fully understand the rationale for their being based there in the first place. The pollution levels in this area are bad enough already.
Does this mean that any terror attack on the Olympic site is to be intercepted over Hillingdon and we can bear the fallout debris instead?

G said:

Rita, if there was any terrorist threat to London & the games, the Typhoon aircraft would be "scrambled" immediately to react to this. It's unlikely that this would mean the threat would be isolated to Hillingdon. In fact, by being based at Hillingdon, the aircraft could traverse great distances throughout London (and surrounding areas) quickly. It's also highly unlikely that in an extreme circumstance, the RAF would be authorised to "intercept" an aircraft over such a densely populated area unless it was likely to create an even bigger risk by not.

Where would you propose the aircraft be stationed, they cannot utilise commercial airports, and in case you hadnt noticed our defence budget has been squeezed so hard, that there are few RAF stations that would be suitable for this purpose.

Bear in mind, during this testing phase - which finishes on Thursday - the aircraft are far more operational than they'd be during the Olympics, only then being scrambled if required. So hopefully for you, London and millions of Olympic spectators, the skies will be relatively quiet during the Summer.

One final thought, a few weeks or extra noise and "pollution" levels, or the grim reality of a successful terrorist operation being carried out on your doorstep? Sadly these are the times we live in and these steps are there to keep the likes of you and me as safe as possible.

Personally they have my full support during these difficult times, despite the noise rattling my roof on a regular basis too.

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