Government wins night flight appeal
The Government has won its appeal against a ruling that night flights at Heathrow Airport contravene the human rights of people living nearby.
There are presently more than a dozen night flights at Heathrow on an average night, many of which are between five and six o’clock in the morning.
A previous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights was made in 2001, and declared that night flights breach the right to peaceful enjoyment of local people’s homes, and their right to respect for private and family life.
The Government appealed against the ruling on the grounds that the economic cost of reversing the 1993 decision to allow night flights would be prohibitive and cost firms affected hundreds of millions of pounds.
The European Court of Human Rights has no power to enforce a ruling, and can only make recommendations, though the ruling is likely to have implications for other airports, railways and roads.
Today’s decision to accept the claim will be welcomed by the Government, which presently faces public pressure over plans to expand airports across the country, and possibly Heathrow itself.
However, campaigners representing residents living under the Heathrow flight path have warned that the fight goes on.
Michael Stott of HACAN ClearSkies asserted: ‘What’s extraordinary about this is that there are probably up to one million people in and around London who suffer from aircraft noise in the middle of the night, yet the Government appears to give that little regard’.
As a result, he accused the Government of following ‘the line set by big business’, stating: ‘It is said that banning night flights would damage the UK economy – we think that’s ridiculous.’
Mr Stott added: ‘The European Court of Human Rights has referred the issue back to the UK courts and we’ll continue to fight.’
Responding to the ruling, Transport Minister Tony McNulty said that any future decisions on night flights would be made in accordance with full public consultation.
Mr McNulty confirmed the Government still intended to go ahead and undertake a review, announced earlier this year, on night flights from London airports.
“We announced earlier this year that we want to consult on a thorough review of policy on night flights at Heathrow Gatwick and Stansted.
“We are not seeking to dilute our tough approach on night noise at all, but we do think there is a need for a review”, he said.
