Night time flight ban

Calls for a ban on night flights at airports have been rejected by the Government.

Existing limits on night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted will be preserved until at least October 2024 under new Department for Transport (DfT) proposals.  The only exception will be the Boeing 747-400, now discarded by British airlines and most international carriers.

Seventeen organisations covering airports such as Bristol, East Midlands, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Southampton wrote to Aviation Minister Robert Courts last month demanding that take-offs and landings are banned for eight hours every night.

The DfT, which is consulting on the plans, said night flights are “an important contributor” to the economic benefits provided by the aviation sector.

The consultation document stated: “Maintaining the existing restrictions for an interim period will provide time for complete consideration of the longer-term options for managing aviation noise at night at the designated airports.

“It will also provide time for the impacts of the pandemic on the aviation industry to be better understood and for evidence to emerge that can support longer-term policy changes.”

Heathrow is currently allowed an average of 16 flights every night between 23:30 and 06:00.

The limit at Gatwick and Stansted is 40 and 38 respectively. In the London area Luton and Stansted have no restrictions.  

The DfT is also asking for views on night flights both beyond 2024 and at airports across the country.

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/night-flight-restrictions-at-heathrow-gatwick-and-stansted-airports-between-2022-and-2024-plus-future-night-flight-policy

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All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

John Richmond, Lochwinnoch

thank goodness the government has refused to ban night flights.Aviation is suffering enough wihout more bans.