Residents living in the shadow of Birmingham International Airport last night called on the hub's bosses to acknowledge that far off expansion plans were already blighting properties.
Airport chiefs were criticised at a public meeting by people who claimed that proposals to build a second runway after 2020 were causing "uncertainty" in the community.
The concerns were raised despite assurances from the airport's managing director Richard Heard that any large-scale development was not being considered for at least another 14 years.
The airport chief also told about 300 people at the Ivy Leaf Social Club in Sheldon that the compensation being proposed was in line with other packages available for residents living near Stansted Airport and the Channel Tunnel.
However, resident Mike Andrews said: "I am 61 and I will be in my eighties if these proposals get off the ground.
"How are we supposed to live with so many years of uncertainty."
David Cuthbert, a resident of Catherine-de-Barnes and chairman of Solihull Opposing Additional Runways, said: "The airport has based its compensation on what will happen in 20 years but it does not realise that people are being affected by this now."
