SOUTHAMPTON protestors have joined a national Airportwatch campaign calling for Whitehall's aviation policy to be scrapped.
AXE the Southampton Airport campaign group says the Government's airport expansion plans will accelerate climate change, damage the countryside and inflict traffic and noise misery on communities around air fields.
Protests have been growing since the government's Aviation White Paper revealed plans for huge airport expansion around the country to cater for a predicted tripling of passengers.
Southampton Airport plans to double the number of flights by 2015 and quadruple them by 2030.
This, says local campaigners, will increase noise and air pollution around the airport as well as adding to road congestion and contributing to global warming.
Mary Finch, chairman of the airport pressure group and a campaigner for AXE, said: "The Government's aviation policy will damage communities and the environment and it must be scrapped.
Airportwatch is an alliance of national environmental campaign organisations and airport campaign groups which is targeting Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander.
The campaign, recently launched with national newspaper advertisements, aims to get tens of thousands of people to write or email the minister to call for a major aviation policy rethink.
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