Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
19
Feb
Leeds Bradford Airport applies for relaxation of nighttime operating restrictions
Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has launched a third attempt to have local planning conditions reinterpreted to allow more night flights.
The airport is currently permitted to operate a capped number of aircraft arrivals and departures between 11pm and 7am, but it says these restrictions are over 30 years old and out of date with the current policies of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport.
On Monday, it submitted a new Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development (CLEUD) application to Leeds City Council to allow quieter, more modern aircraft to fly at night, as they have for the last decade.
In 2023, the airport submitted three CLEUD applications, two of which were refused by the planning inspectorate.
Following discussions with the council, LBA has now submitted a third CLEUD application.
LBA has been flying quieter aircraft – those producing noise levels less than 87 decibels – for more than 10 years, so it contends that under planning legislation it is exempt from restrictions against the aircraft continuing to fly. The CLEUD application confirms this position.
The airport claims the current restrictions put it at a competitive disadvantage compared with other UK regional airports, to the detriment of the region’s economy.
Most UK airports of a comparable size or larger than LBA operate between 6am and 11.30pm, to tie in with Central European Time. In contrast, LBA’s current daytime operating hours are 7am to 11pm.
The Stray Ferret has asked LBA how many more flights it would envisage under relaxed restrictions, and what destinations might be involved.
0