Latest news with #nightflights
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Man to soundproof home over Leeds Bradford Airport night flight noise
A man living beneath an airport flightpath has said he is soundproofing his home due to being "woken during the night" by Hemmingway lives in Otley near Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), which was told this week it must limit the number of night flights it Hemmingway said he was installing acoustic glass in his bedroom windows to reduce the noise from said it was working with Leeds City Council, which enforces night flight rules, to "determine the best path forward". Mr Hemmingway is a member of the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), which claimed the airport had breached its night flights limit in each of the past three is currently permitted 2,920 take-offs and landings between 23:00 and 07:00 during the summer, and 1,200 in the bosses had wanted newer aircraft to be exempt from the cap, as well as smaller planes and flights which had been delayed.A public inquiry took place in March and April to determine the legal meaning of the night-time flying rules, after which Leeds City Council issued a Breach of Condition Notice against LBA. The airport then made three applications to the council to persuade it to reinterpret the meaning of the local night flight planning conditions, making a large number of its planes exempt from the council rejected the appeal on Hemmingway, who moved to his property with his wife two years ago, said the planes "wake us during the night and then we get a clutch of flights around about 6 in the morning, if we haven't been woken before then"."Usually there are flights through the night, around 2am as well."He said the disruption was worse than they had expected. "It can happen two or three times in the night, and sometimes you get back to sleep and sometimes you don't," he said the soundproofing measures would be installed next week."The windows are being replaced, the windows in the bedroom are going to be acoustic glass, which is much more expensive."It is a special glass that has a coating on it, that distorts the sound signal from the plane, so that you don't hear it through the window." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Leeds Bradford Airport loses appeal over night-time flights limit
Leeds Bradford Airport has failed in its appeal against a decision to limit the number of night flights it can City Council rejected the site's interpretation of night-flying rules in 2024 after accusations the limit on permitted night flights had been breached over several years, but the airport appealed the decision.A public inquiry took place in March and April to determine the legal meaning of the night-time flying rules, with the government planning inspectorate dismissing two of the airport's three airport spokesperson said they were "reviewing the outcomes of the public inquiry and will be working closely with the council to determine the best path forward". Council officers were "working through the detail of the decisions to assess any potential planning implications," a spokesperson for the authority Leeds Bradford Airport is permitted 2,920 take offs and landings between 23:00 and 07:00 during the campaign group Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) said the airport had breached that limit in each of the past three inspectorate's decision was welcomed by members of GALBA, with secretary Ian Coatman describing it as "a victory for local people, our environment and common sense". The airport previously admitted it did "accidentally" breach the night-time regulations in 2022 due to "errors taking place in reporting procedures", but claimed it had not gone over the limits in 2023 and 2024 based on its interpretation of the rules."While it doesn't mean an end to all night flights, it does mean the airport must stick to the rules that limit the number of planes allowed to fly at night," said Mr Coatman, who lives near the airport in bosses had wanted newer aircraft to be exempt from the cap, as well as smaller planes and flights which had been made three applications to the council for Certificates of Lawful Existing Use or Development (CLEUDs), asking them to reinterpret the meaning of the local night flight planning conditions.A spokesperson said updating the rules would "provide the correct legal interpretation of the existing planning conditions governing the operation of night flights at LBA".However, two CLEUD applications were rejected by the council and the third was left "undecided", prompting LBA to planning inspectorate dismissed two of the three appeals, but said the council's decision to reject an exemption for some smaller, less noisy planes was "not well-founded". Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Residents not ruling out legal challenge to new Dublin Airport night flight limits
Locals have not ruled out a legal challenge to a planning decision limiting night flights at Dublin Airport to 35,672 a year. Planning appeals board An Coimisiún Pleanála this week allowed the airport to operate its second north runway for an extra two hours but capped night flights at a total of 35,672 a year. Local group St Margarets The Ward Residents, which criticised Thursday's decision, has not ruled out a High Court challenge, it emerged on Friday. A spokesman said the organisation was still studying the planners' ruling. 'However, the timing of the planning decision, with the courts and legal professionals going on holidays, has not been ideal from that perspective,' he added. READ MORE An Coimisiún Pleanála limited all flights between 11pm and 7am at the airport to 35,672 a year. That is an average of 98 flights per night, compared to an existing condition limiting night flights to 65. [ Airlines claim new Dublin Airport night flight limit will hit growth Opens in new window ] It extended the north runway's opening hours to 6am to midnight, from 7am to 11pm. The airstrip can only open between midnight and 6am in 'certain exceptional circumstances'. The south runway will remain open through the night. David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 Planners also ruled that a quota system based on planes' noise classifications should be used to manage noise at night. They also ruled that airport operator DAA should provide insulation and other protections for homes close to the airport, something the company said it had already begun doing. Airlines Aer Lingus and Ryanair warned that the ruling would hit growth at the airport during key early morning hours for both European and transatlantic flights. Ryanair pointed out night flights at Dublin Airport are already approaching the annual total that the commission set this week. Meanwhile, air travel regulator the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), indicated that it may have to take the noise quota and flight limits into account when deciding on conditions for allocating take-off and landing slots at the airport. The authority said any decision depended on 'relevant factors and considerations at the time of making the determination in question'. However, it added the EU regulation governing how airport slots are allocated 'contemplates' that operating restrictions including noise quotas and aircraft movement limits may be taken into account in determining slot allocations to airlines. DAA did not comment on Friday. Reacting to the commission's ruling earlier this week, it said it paved the way for the State company to advance an application to Fingal County Council to increase a passenger limit at Dublin to 40 million from 32 million currently. The controversial cap, imposed by planners in 2007, has angered Irish and international airlines operating at Dublin Airport. They challenged the measure last year in the High Court, which referred key issues to the European courts, suspending its implementation. However, the planning condition remains in place pending the outcome of DAA's application and the High Court action.
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Locals not ruling out Dublin night flight legal challenge
Locals have not ruled out a legal challenge to a planning decision limiting night flights at Dublin Airport to 35,672 a-year. Planning appeals board An Coimisiún Pleanála this week allowed the airport operate its second north runway for an extra two hours but capped night flights at a total of 35,672 a-year. Local group St Margarets the Ward Residents, which criticised Thursday's decision, has not ruled out a High Court challenge, it emerged on Friday. A spokesman said the organisation was still studying the planners' ruling. READ MORE 'However the timing of the planning decision with the courts and legal professionals going on holidays has not been ideal from that perspective,' he added. An Coimisiún Pleanála limited all flights between between 11pm and 7.00am at the airport to 35,672 a-year. [ Airlines claim new Dublin Airport night flight limit will hit growth Opens in new window ] That is an average of 98 flights a-night, compared to an existing condition limiting night flights to 65. It extended the north runway's opening hours to 6am to midnight, from 7am to 11pm. The airstrip can only open between midnight and 6am in 'certain exceptional circumstances'. The south runway will remain open through the night. David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 Planners also ruled that a quota system based on planes' noise classifications should be used to manage noise at night. They also ruled that airport operator DAA should provide insulation and other protections for homes close to the airport, something the company said it had already begun doing. Airlines Aer Lingus and Ryanair warned that the ruling would hit growth at the airport during key early morning hours for both European and transatlantic flights. Ryanair pointed out night flights at Dublin Airport are already approaching the annual total that the commission set this week. Meanwhile, air travel regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), indicated that it could have to take the noise quota and flight limits into account when deciding on conditions for allocating take-off and landing slots at the airport. The authority said any decision depended on 'relevant factors and considerations at the time of making the determination in question'. However, it added the EU regulation governing how airport slots are allocated 'contemplates' that operating restrictions including noise quotas and aircraft movement limits may be taken into account in determining slot allocations to airlines. DAA did not comment on Friday. Reacting to the commission's ruling earlier this week, it said it paved the way for the State company to advance an application to Fingal County Council to increase a passenger limit at Dublin to 40 million from 32 million currently. The controversial cap, imposed by planners in 2007, has angered Irish and international airlines operating at Dublin Airport. They challenged the measure last year in the High Court, which referred key issues to the European courts, suspending its implementation. However, the planning condition remains in place pending the outcome of DAA's application and the High Court action.
Irish Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Planners set to rule on night flights at Dublin Airport
Planners could rule shortly on night flights at Dublin Airport , ending almost a year of speculation over a crunch issue for airlines there. State planning board An Coimisiún Pleanála last September issued a draft ruling limiting night-time flights to 13,000 a year, fewer than 36 a night. That figure was almost two thirds less than the 36,000 night-time flights at Dublin Airport in 2023, sparking warnings from airlines about the impact on their operations. Darragh O'Brien , Minister for Transport, confirmed that a final ruling from the commission was 'imminent', a spokesman for the department has said. READ MORE He said Mr O'Brien 'looks forward to the clarity that will bring'. Several industry sources also confirmed that they understood the planning board was due to rule on the issue shortly, possibly this week. None of the sources would comment on what the ruling was likely to say, but said they hoped it would address 'significant contradictions' in September's draft finding. Last September planners ruled in favour of a more flexible noise abatement and quota system over a hard limit on night-time flights. But their draft finding, on an appeal by local groups against a Fingal County Council decision easing night-flight restrictions dating to 2007, also imposed the new lower annual limit on night flights. Airlines and airport operator, State company, DAA, support the noise abatement and quota approach. Still, the airport company and carriers highlighted contradictions in the ruling, specifically the 13,000 a year limit on night flights, which they warned could hinder airport operations beyond 11pm to 6am hours to which it applied. A DAA spokesman warned at the time that it would 'reduce the night-time flights by over 60 per cent, and have significant implications for passengers and airlines as well as freight operations'. Airlines subsequently warned that this would damage their businesses at Dublin Airport. Lynne Embleton, chief executive of Aer Lingus, argued that the night flight limit was potentially more harmful than the planning condition capping Dublin Airport passenger numbers at 32 million a year. The contradictions prompted some industry figures to suggest that the planning board had made a mistake, but it refused to comment further as it had invited public submissions on the draft ruling. Local groups who maintain that growing noise levels are affecting residents' health hailed the finding as a victory. Reports that a ruling on night-time flights is due come as pressure continues to mount on the Government to axe the 32 million a year passenger limit. Industry group Airlines for America said now was the time to act on the passenger cap. Mr O'Brien has sought advice from the Attorney General on legislation to resolve the row over the limit, imposed 18 years ago by planners.
