Councillor welcomes plans to reduce night flights at Dublin Airport

A recent order from Fingal County Council to curtail night flights at Dublin Airport is facing severe opposition from businesses, but has been welcomed by local residents.

daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, said they are “disappointed” at Fingal County Council’s edict that calls for a reduction of night flights at Dublin Airport.

The order calls for no more than 65 night flights between the hours of 11pm and 7am.

Ryanair has described the order as “idiotic”, and took umbrage with only being given six weeks notice to comply with the order.

The airline is calling for the decision to be amended to restrict the number of flights between 12am and 6am, rather than 11pm to 7am.

It said this would avoid disruption to the vast majority of first flights taking off between 6am and 7am and would remove significant restrictions for passengers.

Ryanair claims the restrictions are “not necessary” as new planes run by it and Aer Lingus are 50% quieter, which they say reduce noise emissions.

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan “must instruct Fingal County Council to withdraw their stupid enforcement notice”.

He added if the minister fails to intervene he should resign.

Dublin Chamber has expressed disappointment at Fingal County Council over the order, with Stephen Browne, Head of Public Affairs, saying “granting only six weeks for daa to comply with this enforcement order is excessive and unreasonable, particularly as the airport is currently operating within peak summer season.”

“Dublin Airport is by far the busiest transport hub in the country by passenger numbers and having to drastically reduce night flights so suddenly may have a damaging effect on tourism and business”.

“The overall decision by Fingal County Council is short-sighted and could negatively affect Ireland’s connectivity and reputation. Flights may end up delayed or cancelled so as to comply with this order.”

Kenny Jacobs, daa CEO, said the order would be like increasing the number of seats in Croke Park to 100,000 but cutting the capacity for games to 50,000.

“It makes no sense, and the travelling public deserves better,” he said.

On the ground however, the move has been welcomed, but more needs to be done to comprehensively tackle the issue.

Local politicians such as Labour TD Duncan Smith and Independent councillor Joe Newman have been advocating on behalf of local residents who have been affected by noisy aircraft, and councillor Newman said that the DAA needs to be more “proactive” in engaging with local residents.

“I’ve lived in the area for 50 years, and over the last number of years, the growth of Dublin Airport has been uncontrolled,” he told Dublin People.

Newman said that local residents have complained about rattling windows, being unable to sleep, and fumes from low-flying aircraft causing health issues.

The councillor welcomed the move to reduce night flights in the area surrounding Dublin Airport, and said that the Irish Aviation Authority should take the initiative to grow other airports in Ireland such as Shannon, Cork and Knock or build a new airport in Ireland.

“Dublin airport is growing at such a rapid rate, it’s become unsustainable. There are public consultations and there are conditions attached to the expansion of the airport but it’s really lip service.”

“The relevant authorities in this case need to listen to what the people on the ground say – they cannot keep ignoring them.”

Councillor Newman said that airlines such as Ryanair and Aer Lingus had made substantial movements in reducing aircraft noise over the years, but with a mooted third runway in the works at the airport, he fears that the issue may become a bigger problem.

Councillor Newman says that the residents of Ridgewood and Boroimhe estates in Swords, who live just one kilometre or so away from the new runway, have had their “privacy shattered” with noise disturbances.

He said there were significant noise disturbances at St. Margaret’s, Kilsallaghan and Oldtown. “These towns are under the flight path where planes make a sharp turn, which is in contravention to the original flight path promoted by the DAA in previous consultations on the noise contours.”

He also cited issues raised by residents of some estates in the River Valley area in Swords, saying “for years they have up with a lot of noise from airplanes taking off from the South runway, and they now must deal with an increased amount of noise from the north runway and the fact that planes are taking off at much lower altitudes.”

The independent councillor is demanding that the DAA return immediately to the original planning conditions as set out by Fingal County Council, and a new tax should be implemented on noisy aircraft.

“People might say we’re being bad neighbours, but we’re not asking the world,” he said.

“All we ask for is to be kept in the loop when these decisions are made. It is not enough for the daa to send out emails to local residents informing them of their plans, they actually need to be meeting with us here, on the ground.”