Debunking the myth that Leeds Bradford Airport do not need to count delayed night flights towards the limit

 

LBA’s claim is based on condition 9) of the current planning consent in operation at the airport. This condition was included in 1993 to allow for noisy planes, such as larger jumbo jets, that were in use back then, to land at night if they were subject to a delay. It does not apply to any of the planes in operation today. It states that:

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9) Movements in the night-time period by aircraft defined by conditions 4 and 5 will only be permissible in the following circumstances:-

a. Delayed landings up to 0100 hours by aircraft scheduled to land at Leeds-Bradford Airport (LBA) between 0700 hours and 2300 hours.

b. An emergency, i.e. a flight where there is an immediate danger to life or health, whether human or animal. Aircraft movements in these categories are exempt from night-time restrictions and will not count against the night-time period limits specified in condition 7.

 

This sounds like it contains an exception for delayed flights up to 01:00, until you read conditions 4) and 5):

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4) No departures in the night-time period shall take place by aircraft with quota counts of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 on take-off.

5) No landings in the night-time period shall take place by aircraft with quota counts of 2, 4, 8 and 16 on landing.

 

So condition 9) permits only delayed landings that are not normally allowed to land at night and which do not currently operate during the day (QC2 and above). All planes currently operating at LBA are QC1 or lower.