Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) stands by its decision in wanting the quieter planes exempt from the laws surrounding overnight aircraft. Only 2,920 aircraft are allowed to move between overnight hours currently per year, as regulated by local planning conditions and Leeds City Council. This is due to aircraft noise, but the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), have argued that the limit has been broken over the course of the last three years as hundreds more flights have taken place each summer.
An exemption from the rule
LBA has disagreed with GALBA’s data, and Vincent Hodder, the chief executive officer, has stated that aircraft with less than or equal to 87 dB should be exempt from these statistics.
The airport has sent Leeds City Council an application for a certificate of lawful existing use or development (CLEUD), drawing back on aircraft operated between 2010 and 2019 that was allowed to operate.
GALBA’s response
These disputes between LBA and GALBA have been ongoing for several years, with the disputes originally taken up in 2020. Since the airport’s breaching of the aircraft allowances between 2022 and 2025, these disputes have increased.
One member of GALBA, Ian Coatman, has stated:
“No one is saying people should never take holidays abroad, but frequent night noise is harmful to the many thousands of people who live under the flight path.”
Future aircraft movements
LBA is looking to change these regulations from aircraft numerical allocations to noise dependent ones to allow for an increase in its summer movement capacity. Hodder describes the want to change the rules as part of the upkeep in closely observing the noise levels for locals to the airport.
Third parties are being asked to bring forth evidence of the airport’s flight patterns, requesting data regarding flight times, frequency and size of each aircraft to form part of the CLEUD application the airport submitted.
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