A group of residents in Leeds say they are extremely concerned about noisy and potentially illegal flights landing at Leeds Bradford Airport this summer.
A row has since erupted involving Leeds Bradford Airport, Leeds City Council and The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) over the matter. GALBA say they tracked airport activity last summer and found that it breached rules.
The group say they reported the matter to Leeds City Council in a formal complaint and say they are worried that as summer approaches, more rule breaking flights may land in the area. Leeds Bradford Airport has a cap on night time flights as part of its planning conditions.
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During summer a maximum of 2,800 night flights are allowed to land or depart from LBA between 11pm and 7am. The rules say 10 per cent of unused night flights from a previous season may be transfered to the following winter season.
Last year, the summer season lasted from March 27, 2022 to October, 30. This year's season began yesterday (Sunday, March 26).
GALBA claim that LBA allowed more than 600 flights above the legal limit during last year's summer time season, allowing 3,536 night time flights instead of 2,800. GALBA say they arrived at the 3,536 figure by analysis public flight data. A spokesperson for GALBA said: "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."
And GALBA say the flights have had a profound impact on people who live nearby. Two residents told GALBA they had been impacted by the operations. 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?”
Similarily, 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.”
Leeds Bradford Airport is aware of GALBA's claims and has said it works with authorities to ensure compliance. A spokesperson for LBA, said: “We work closely with Leeds City Council on all matters relating to the airport’s planning consent, and will liaise with them on any issues raised in respect of how that consent is implemented. We take our responsibilities on operating flights seriously and will continue to report on them in an open and transparent way.”
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “Our analysis of the 2022 night flight data for Leeds Bradford Airport remains ongoing. As this is a live investigation, consistent with our protocols, it would not be appropriate for the council to comment further at this stage. Once the investigation is completed, the results will be communicated as appropriate.”
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