Even though airports are located on prime-locations, houses around them have their values decreased. This is mainly due to noise pollution. A resident of Colnbrook points out that her house is worth £50,000 less than an equivalent house 15 miles away.
Customers of British Airways park at nearby villages to avoid parking charges. This is a problem for locals because they can’t park their cars even in front of their own houses.
Social Benefits
Not only does British Airways affect local communities in bad ways, they also help them in good ways such as starting education and youth developments. They also sponsor schools such as Slough and Eton Church of England School and have helped them to earn a Business and Enterprise College status. British Airways organises tours around their offices for GCSE students. They have created a mock check-in and aeroplane so that pupils can gain experience in air transport. This increases the students’ knowledge and improves British Airways’ image in the society. As well as this, they provide work experience placements at their offices. They also provide hundreds of jobs for students in higher education.
The environment has suffered a lot over the last century due to new technology. This is why firms as big as British Airways do their best to help the environment around us. To do this, they have opened a 240 acre nature park called Waterside. This is for all members of the community to enjoy the great surroundings offered.
The PLC has also proven to be a good neighbour. They have financially helped a lot of residents install triple-glazing into their houses to reduce aeroplane noise. British Airways has a lot of staff. Local businesses such as newsagents, cafés and restaurants benefit from this huge number of employees because a lot of these employees would drop in before and after work and at lunch times. This increases local businesses sales and profits. Property investors also take advantage of the fact that British Airways has a lot of employees. They can easily put their property to let because it is very easy to let a property near an airport, where employees are always willing to move. Hotels are at advantage whenever some employees stop-over for work purposes. They will need a place to stay while they are travelling for work.
Pressure Groups
Everyone has the right to create or join a pressure group. Most of these groups are formed when members of the community are unhappy with the firm’s decisions. The main reason as to why pressure groups are formed is because of damages towards the environment. If local communities are unhappy with a business because they have caused damages to the environment or their surroundings, they are very likely to create a pressure group. This will affect the way British Airways operates. Pressure groups are at their worst when they get environmental organizations to join. This will persuade the international airline to change their schedules and maybe even their technology. A change in technology can possibly reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide and fine particles emitted by aircraft engines. This will reduce the amount of harmful gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
British Airways has always tried their best to prevent pressure groups from forming. This is why they use extra economy fuel to reduce harmful substances from emitting and have also provided financial support for neighbours to have triple glazing installed to reduce the amount of noise.
