Airport's air-con offer to tackle night flight noise

Homeowners near Leeds Bradford Airport could be given money to install air conditioning in bedrooms to help reduce noise from night-time flights.

Airport bosses said the proposed offer was a first for UK airports, with grants to replace windows also announced as part of new proposals to "modernise" its night flying rules.

Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) had been accused of breaching a night-flight limit during the summer season by campaigners, but Leeds City Council ruled it had not breached the cap.

Its latest night flying proposals submitted to the local authority seek to replace a "decades-old movement-based system with a modern noise-based framework".

LBA had been limited to 2,920 aircraft movements between 23:00 and 07:00 BST annually, with Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) claiming it had been breached for four successive years between 2022 and 2025.

It is now applying to condense night-time hours to 23:30 and 05:59, stating the move would bring LBA "in line with other UK airports".

Under the latest proposals, LBA also wants to change the current air traffic movement restrictions to a quota count system.

This would allow, it said, for a modern system which "incentivises quieter, more environmentally-friendly planes".

Vincent Hodder, LBA chief executive officer, said the proposed changes would modernise operating conditions introduced "more than three decades ago".

"It enables us to encourage quieter, cleaner aircraft while maintaining robust environmental controls and providing meaningful support for our neighbours," he said.

"This is about creating a stronger, more sustainable and better-connected Yorkshire for the decades ahead, this is not the 'thousands more night flights' some would claim."

The plan also includes a "night noise insulation scheme" for homes and community facilities impacted by aircraft noise.

Grants would be offered towards insulation measures including glazing, ventilation improvements and funding for bedroom air conditioning, LBA said.

Details about who would be eligible for the grants are yet to be shared.

In March, the airport applied to the council for a certificate of lawful existing use or development (CLEUD) that would allow the quieter aircraft to remain outside the night quota.

Hodder suggested new aircraft that have a noise level of 87 dB or less should not be included in the summertime night cap figures.

In May, Leeds City Council approved the application and confirmed a further 941 night flights per year were also permitted by quieter aircraft.

It stopped short of allowing an unlimited number of flights by quieter aircraft, which was welcomed by GALBA.

Speaking about the latest application, Nick Hodgkinson, GALBA's chair, said: "We are ready to oppose the airport's latest attempt to fly thousands more planes at night.

"We will look carefully at the details of LBA's application and speak to our lawyers soon.

"But we have made an initial assessment of LBA's latest plan to change the night flight rules, which includes unlimited numbers of planes taking off from six in the morning.

"What LBA wants would mean a huge rise in night flights, especially during the summer months."

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