Leeds Bradford Airport: Investigation still ‘ongoing’ as campaigners fear ‘night flight misery’

The airport is being probed over suggestions it ran around 600 more night-time flights than it was allowed over the course of last summer. Campaigners Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), who made the allegations against the airport last October, have warned of “another year of night flight misery”, if the council does not deliver its findings soon.

It’s understood that the local authority is unlikely to finish the investigation for another several weeks at least.

In a letter to the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper last week, GALBA said: “The 2022 summer season is still very fresh in the memory – a season of excessive aircraft noise, both late at night and early in the morning. ‘Excessive’ is the appropriate word. GALBA monitored night flights and found that the official limit, of almost 3,000 flights, had been exceeded by more than 600 flights.”

“Night flights are strictly limited by a planning condition imposed by Leeds City Council. This is for good reasons – noise from night flights is a proven cause of mental and physical health problems, and every additional flight means more air pollution and more damage to our climate.”

GALBA was set up by local residents in 2019 to fight the airport’s expansion plans, on environmental grounds. Those plans were later abandoned, but the group continues to oppose the site’s ambitions to run more flights.

When the flight breach claims first emerged in October, Leeds Bradford Airport said it took its responsibilities “seriously” and that it would continue to report on them in an “open and transparent way”. In its letter last week, GALBA said it was “still waiting for a response” from the council, five months after it made the allegations.

It added: “In the meantime, LBA has published its 2023 schedule. Does LBA intend to breach the limit again? If the council inaction continues, we face the prospect of another year of night flight misery.”

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.”