Airport warned over noisy night flights

Leeds Bradford Airport has been served with an enforcement notice after its overnight flights breached noise rules.

Certain types of aircraft are not allowed to fly from the airport between 23:00 and 07:00 due to their noise impact.

Leeds City Council warned steps needed to be taken to "ensure there were no further breaches".

The airport said the breaches were “historic” and measures to restrict such flights had been in place since 2023.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, aircraft are given a Quota Count (QC) number based on their noise impact around airports.

Aircraft with QCs of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 on take-off are not allowed to fly from Leeds Bradford Airport overnight.

Data from the airport showed 272 night-time departures from QC1 aircraft took place between July 2008 and December 2019, which breached the planning condition.

The enforcement notice was welcomed by the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), which campaigns against night flights.

GALBA chairman Nick Hodgkinson said: "LBA has been ignoring the rules by flying noisy old planes in the early hours when people are trying to sleep."

Leeds Bradford Airport previously appealed against separate planning decisions by the council restricting night-time flights.

The airport company has also called for a public inquiry into night flight planning conditions.

An LBA spokesperson said: "This enforcement notice relates to a small proportion of historic breaches by older, noisier aircraft of night-time departure limits.

"In 2023, we implemented robust measures to actively manage the use of these aircraft, with any airline found to be in breach of the restrictions now being fined and the monies raised put towards local community causes."

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