Court rejects petition against low-altitude Haneda routes

The Tokyo District Court rejected on Friday a petition filed by residents urging the government to revoke its approval of low-altitude routes for aircraft flying to and from Tokyo International Airport at Haneda.
The 29 plaintiffs living in Tokyo and the neighboring city of Kawasaki had sued the government, saying that the transport ministry’s approval of the routes, which were established in 2020, was unlawful.
The residents had said that the routes posed the risk of falling objects and aircraft crashes, as well as causing noise and exhaust gas pollution.
Presiding Judge Yukito Okada concluded that the ministry approval cannot be considered a subject of a lawsuit, saying, “The establishment of the new routes imposes no obligation to endure noise pollution.”
According mainly to the ruling, the new routes, put into operation in March 2020, are used when the south wind is blowing.
When using the routes, aircraft trying to land at Haneda fly at low altitudes over central Tokyo, while planes leaving the airport fly just above Kawasaki’s industrial area.