Airport explains increase in noise over Santry

THE Dublin Airport Authority (daa) has said it’s doing its best to minimise aircraft noise at night over the Santry area.

Locals have complained of an increase in night flights in recent months, and the daa says it’s because some aircraft have to be diverted over the Santry area due to essential upgrade work on the main runway.

Local Fianna Fail councillor, Darragh Butler, passed on complaints to the daa, who responded with a detailed outline of why residents may have experienced an increase in noise on certain nights.

The authority says work on the main runway began last November and is due to continue at least until spring 2018.

“It can only be carried out in a narrow time frame at night between the hours of 11pm and 5am when the airport is least busy as the work requires the full closure of the main runway at Dublin Airport,” the response to Cllr Butler reads.

The daa explained that its secondary runway is used for flights while the work is being carried out and most are directed by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to approach from the north, as this is the least populated area.

However, on occasions wind direction forces a southerly approach, which brings aircraft over the Santry area.

“The IAA's Air Traffic Control Service makes the decision on which runway approach is to be used based on meteorological conditions at the time, usually wind direction and strength,” the daa said. “For safety reasons, aircraft must land and take off into the wind.”

Since the main runway work began last November, almost 78 per cent of flights (3,758) have used the secondary runway from the south and 1,071 from the north, which brought aircraft over Santry.

The daa also point out that all decisions are made based on wind direction and strength measured at the airport, which can be different than the wind felt on a ground just a few kilometres away.

This could explain why some residents in Santry have wondered why they are experiencing noise when the wind feels relatively calm.

“The reduction of aircraft noise on neighbouring communities is the joint responsibility of the airport operator, the Irish Aviation Authority and the airlines that operate at Dublin Airport,” the daa added in its response.

“I can assure you that we take concerns regarding aircraft noise very seriously and strive to do all we can to minimise any adverse impact on both the communities and the environment by the operation of Dublin Airport.”

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport’s Community Fund is officially now open for applications until October 13.  

The new €10 million Community Fund will invest €400,000 per year over the next 25 years in local projects focussed on areas such as environment and sustainability, sports and recreation, social inclusion and community development, health and wellbeing, and culture and heritage.

The fund will support projects in communities around the airport from Santry south of the airport to Rolestown in the north and from Tyrrelstown on the west to Portmarnock on the east.