This morning, local people and campaigners against airport expansion joined an international day of protest, calling for a ban on night flights.
Holding pillows spelling out ‘NO MORE NIGHT FLIGHTS’ and wearing pyjamas, they gathered in front of Leeds Civic Hall to highlight the damage that night time flying does to human health, air quality and the climate.
Nicky Ford, who lives in Headingley, said: “Night flights are a nightmare! My house is directly under the flight path and the noise is unbearable. The planes wake me up all the time – it’s really bad for my health. The World Health Organisation says that night time noise is related to all kinds of serious illnesses.”
“Here in Leeds, the airport is allowed to fly thousands of planes at night every year. That’s bad news for people like me who live under the flight path but what’s worse is that LBA has flown hundreds more planes than allowed.”
“This is the third year in a row that the airport will break the rules that limit the number of night flights. After they broke the rules in 2022, the airport’s boss apologised and said it wouldn’t happen again. Well it has – for another two years! I can’t understand why Leeds City Council hasn’t done something to make LBA stick to the rules. If it was you or me breaking the rules, you can bet we’d be punished.”
More than 70 organisations across the world have declared 13 September as the “International Day for a Ban on Night Flights at Airports”. The declaration they have signed states: ‘Take-offs and landings during the night are an unreasonable burden with particularly harmful health consequences for all people in the vicinity of airports. They are unnecessary and avoidable.’
Ian Coatman, from the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), said: “Air traffic noise is associated with serious health problems. The most critical include heart disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment – especially in children – as well as mental health issues like stress and depression. One health study estimates that night flights near Frankfurt airport in Germany have led to 2,340 hospitalisations and 340 deaths per year.”
On Friday 6 September, Leeds City Council rejected the third of LBA’s four CLEUD applications. The CLEUDs seek to rewrite the night flying rules to allow a major increase in flights.
Ian commented: “We’re pleased that Leeds City Council has rejected yet another attempt by LBA to change the rules and we urge the Council to reject LBA’s final CLEUD application as quickly as possible. It’s obvious what LBA are doing – instead of sticking to the rules that exist to protect our health, they want to change those rules. That’s not fair and it’s not safe for the people of Leeds.”
Nick Hodgkinson, Chair of GALBA, said: “As well as harming human health, every extra night flight pumps more pollution into the atmosphere, damaging the air we breathe and the climate we all depend on.”
NOTES
Ban Night Flights International Declaration: “We, the undersigned, declare 13 September 2024 as International Day for the Ban on Night Flights at Airports. Take-offs and landings during the night are an unreasonable burden with particularly harmful health consequences for all people in the vicinity of airports. They are unnecessary and avoidable. Absolute exceptions, such as medical emergencies, do not stand in the way of banning night flights at airports. Night flights at airports must be stopped immediately. The damage to health and the climate is disproportionate to any alleged necessity of take-offs and landings at night. We see the International Day for the Ban on Night Flights at Airports as a clear and lasting signal against the unreasonable violation of people’s rights at and around airports. Immediate end to night flights at airports!” You can see the Declaration signatories here.
Night flights and human health: see the scientific data collated on p3 of the 2024 report “Aviation is a Health Issue” published by Stay Grounded. Also see the Frankfurt airport research by Greiser, E. et al. (2013): Social and economic consequences of night-time aircraft noise in the vicinity of Frankfurt/Main airport.
CLEUD applications: in December 2023, LBA submitted four applications for Certificates of Lawful Existing Use or Development (CLEUD) to Leeds City Council. They asked the Council to reinterpret the meaning of the rules that limit night time flying so as to allow a major rise in the number of night flights. Three CLEUDs have been rejected and the Council has said that a decision on the last one will be made within two months.
Night flight rules: local planning conditions impose a cap on the number of night time flights allowed at LBA. Leeds City Council has responsibility for monitoring and enforcing those conditions. They define the Summer Season as British Summer Time, the night time period as 23:00 to 07:00 and an aircraft movement as a landing or a departure.
Night flight breaches: LBA broke the night flight rules in the 2022 summer season and the Council issued a breach of condition notice against LBA in June 2023. LBA broke the rules again in summer 2023 but the Council took no action. GALBA expects LBA to break the rules again this year by the end of next week.
Credit: Neil Terry
Credit: Neil Terry
Credit: Neil Terry
Credit: Neil Terry