A NEW report claims fewer people are being affected by noise from Gatwick.

Information supplied by the Department of the Environment shows a slight drop in the number of complaints received by the airport.

The report, covering plane movements during the summer of 1997, says the drop was helped by the gradual replacement of noisier planes with quieter ones.

Stricter controls were also imposed to prevent aircraft deviating from flight paths.

Hundreds of people from the Horsham, Crawley and East Grinstead area contact the airport's complaints line every year.

Gatwick says it is determined to continue to reduce the number of complaints despite plans to increase the number of flights using the airport in the next ten years.

Peter Bryant, chairman of the Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee, said: "It is encouraging to see the noise exposure situation improving for some people at Gatwick.

"The airlines and the pilots are to be thanked for their contribution.

"However there remains considerable scope for further improvement and we look forward to the early publication of the noise results for summer 1998."

Gatwick managing director Janis Kong said: "I'm very encouraged that moves by airlines to bring in larger, quieter modern aircraft such as the Boeing 777 are starting to show through.

"However local communities can rest assured that I will continue to wage war on noisy aircraft like the Boeing 727s until the last ones have left Gatwick for good."

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