LBA’s Chief Exec, Vincent Hodder, has recently said he wants to ‘modernise’ the night flight rules and has made a planning application to Leeds City Council. This is our response.
The word ‘modernisation’ hides a multitude of sins. What LBA really wants is permission to fly thousands more planes at night, especially in the summer season. They also want permission for an unlimited number of flights between 6am and 11.30pm. There’s a mountain of medical research to show the damage that would be done to human health from such frequent noise disturbance, especially at night.
Mr Hodder’s offer to pay ‘towards’ (not all of) the costs of noise insulation is a blatant attempt to distract people from the facts: every extra flight means more noise, more air pollution and more climate damage.
What’s more, there are no details of LBA’s ‘offer’. Why would anyone trust the airport after their years of rule breaking? Who will pay for the significant running costs of air conditioning – LBA? What use is insulation when you want to sit outside or have the windows open in your home? None of LBA’s offer would be available until at least 2030 but the extra night flights would start next year. Thousands of people would be affected but LBA says it will only help a few hundred.
And of course, insulation can do nothing to stop the extra air pollution and climate damage from thousands of extra flights every year. After this summer’s heat waves and wildfires, should we really allow LBA to make things worse?
LBA’s boss talks about bringing newer planes to the airport but airlines are already upgrading their fleets because newer planes are cheaper to operate. And let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as a truly quiet or clean jet engine! If LBA really wants to be environmentally responsible, it should abandon its obsession with expansion.
GALBA stands ready to protect local people, our environment and everyone’s climate. We urge Leeds City Council to do the same and reject LBA’s application.
Photo by Neil Terry