Airport plan could see an extra 10 flights a night

Leeds Bradford Airport could run an extra 10 flights a night during the summer if changes to their operating rules are approved, the chief executive has said.

Currently the airport is permitted 2,920 aircraft movements between 23:00 and 07:00 BST during the summer, but bosses want to switch to a model that monitors overall noise levels instead of counting take-offs and landings.

It is also applying to condense night-time hours to between 23:30 and 05:59, with the plans set to be decided on by Leeds City Council later this autumn.

LBA say the changes would help the airport grow and keep airlines at the site, but campaigners say an increase in night flights would impact their ability to sleep.

During the summer time LBA operates about 18 night-time flights a day.

Asked by the BBC if the airport was simply trying to abolish the cap on night flights chief executive Vincent Hodder said "absolutely not".

He said: "What we're doing is switching the focus from how many aircraft movements are taking place to what's actually really important here, which is how much noise is being produced by the aircraft operating out of the airport."

He said under the quota point system, an older, noisier plane would have more points than a newer, quieter plane, adding: "The way the limits in the application have been set - that 1,450 quota points - is to make sure that the level of noise we produce in future can never be any more than what is permitted to operate at the airport right now."

Hodder said the quota system the plan is based on was developed for London airports in the 1990s, and has been regularly updated since.

Hodder said more night flights would allow airlines to grow their business and create more jobs at the site.

"If we can't increase the level of flights at night then the airlines that currently base aircraft here, Jet2 and Ryanair - Jet2, one of our largest local employers – are unable to grow here at night because they don't have any night movements," he said.

"We're forced if we want to grow to move only towards quieter aircraft and that's how the incentive works."

As part of the proposals, the airport has offered a £5,500 grant to 700 residents who live on the flight path to spend on insulation or air conditioning so windows do not have to be kept shut on warm summer nights.

But, Cal Bailey who has lived under the flight path in Horsforth for 30 years said he was woken up frequently by night flights, and does not think insurance or air conditioning would help.

"I have insulated this house significantly since we moved in and air conditioning is not something I want to do. It's highly energy intensive," he said.

"I think local residents deserve to have the opportunity to sleep well at night."

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