The new LDA landing path over Modiin started operating on July 1st 2010, and ever since then Modiin residents have been suffering from noisy flights every night. Click here to watch a short video filmed by Clear Skies activist Ezi Shabi of these night flights over Cramim neighborhood (Tsipor).
Last Thursday the CAA informed Modiin Municipality that they are forced to open landing window between 11:30PM and 01:00AM for long range flights who carry heavier loads and require the longer runway 30. While the LDA landing path over Modiin is considered by the aviation authorities as the last priority during the day, it is considered by the aviation authorities as the only option during the night for flights landing on runway 30.
BTW, the experienced airline captain who consulted Clear Skies and the Municipality stated that flights can land over Ben Shemen forest (instead of over Modiin) also at night when good weather conditions exist, but the CAA rejected his opinion.
As result of the night flights Bibas sent an angry letter to the head of CAA, Giora Rom, claiming that the agreements between the sides were breached and threatened to appeal to Bagatz.
The aviation authorities responded that there was never any agreement between the aviation authorities and the Modiin Municipality - and they are correct. The CAA decision was a one sided document, which Modiin Municipality did not even receive a draft in advance to provide its comments and feedback – and the Modiin Municipality certainly is not a party to any agreement. The CAA worded its decision very carefully and provided what it termed as a “forecast” of 5-10 planes daily that would pass Modiin. In the CAA decision document there is no restriction regarding night flights.
It is precisely because that a “forecast” is such a nonbinding term and because there is no legal binding agreement between the the CAA and Modiin Municipality that Clear Skies pushed to appeal to Bagatz, in order to set clear restrictions to the use of the LDA landing path, and to set sanctions in case these restrictions are violated.
However mayor Bibas ignored all the warnings by Clear Skies and by council members Danny Rosenfeld and Alex Weinreb, and rejected our appeals to go to Bagatz, stating that he has complete faith in Giora Rom, head of the CAA. Bibas persuaded the great majority of the city council members to support his position, relying on these forecasts and presenting them as agreements. Mayor Bibas and the city council members ignored the hundreds of emails sent by Modiin residents responding to our request, urging the mayor and the council members to continue to struggle for clear skies.
Now we are all paying the price of Bibas’s gullibility, vanity and inability to heed others’ advise.
The main obstacle to go to Bagatz now against a decision made by the CAA in April is that the supreme court rejects appeals that are not made in short proximity to the decision. Thus an appeal submitted by Modiin Municipality in July-August against a decision published in April may be rejected out of hand by the supreme court due to “shihuy” (delay).
We still hope that it is not to late to go to Bagatz, but the likelihood is that our quality of life will be significantly compromised over the next year and a half, and perhaps even longer.
For more information please see the detailed post in our Hebrew website.
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