Local residents fear another ‘sleepless summer’ caused by ‘rule breaking’ night flights at Leeds Bradford Airport.
Sunday will mark the start of Leeds Bradford Airport’s 2023 Summer Season but local residents and campaigners are still waiting for Leeds City Council to make a decision on their complaint that the airport broke the night time flying rules in the 2022 Summer Season.
The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) made a formal complaint to Leeds City Council in October last year because their monitoring revealed the airport had exceeded the number of permitted night flights by over 600 between April and October. The Council said it was investigating the complaint but, after five months, no decision has been made.
Andy Tait, who lives under the flight path, said: “Night flights are strictly limited by a planning condition imposed by Leeds City Council. This is for a good reason. Medical research has repeatedly shown that noise causes mental and physical health problems. And, of course, every additional flight means more air pollution and more damage to our climate. We’ve given the Council all our monitoring data and the airport has handed over theirs too. So why on earth is it taking them so long to make a decision?”
Victoria Smith, who also lives under the flight path, said: “Last summer was a nightmare for me, with incredibly loud noise from flights starting at 6am and going on till 3 or 4 the following morning. I don’t begrudge anyone their annual holiday but there has to be a limit on the amount of flying at night and the airport has to stick to those limits. They didn’t and no one is doing anything about it. Why isn’t Leeds City Council enforcing its own rules? They have a responsibility to their citizens but they’re just sitting on their hands and now we face the prospect of another sleepless summer.”