Belfast City Airport to fine flights that breach curfew
late night curfew will be fined — as it emerged there were more than 500 flights
after the 9.30pm deadline last year.
At present, flights should only operate between 6.30am and 9.30pm, and it has
given assurances that this will not alter if the extension is granted.
Act found that 535 flights were recorded in and out of the airport after 9.30pm,
174 of them after 10pm.
flights, as first recommended by the DoE’s Examination in Public report in 2006,
with the money levied going to a Community Fund launched this week.
as part of a scheme that rises to £600 for flights after 11pm. The money gathered
will go to a charity that raises money for disadvantaged children and may fund
other community projects in east Belfast and north Down in the future.
made by airlines for extensions outside scheduled operating hours and it expects
these to fall in 2009, following a 28% decrease in 2008 from 2007.
has the most limited operating hours of any airport in the UK, therefore a 28%
reduction in flight extensions is significant, given that last year was the busiest
in the airport’s history.
there are over 100 flights a day, the fact that less than 3% of delays are caused
by the airport authority demonstrates our commitment to handling this issue."
extension said it is vital that late flights be reduced further.
there will always be emergencies and exceptional circumstances but this is now
routine and destroys confidence in the airport’s claims that it is sticking to
agreements."
situation, where this designated city airport promises that it will abide by its
planning agreement — a legal document — which states that it should only permit
late flights in exceptional circumstances within the ‘extended hours’ period of
9.31pm to 11.59pm, and then allows 535 such circumstances to occur."
the seriousness of the flights flying well past the curfew, she said.
hours by stealth, she added.
in the level of abuse of operating hours. It is one of the few protections we
have and we will fight to safeguard it."
Trust.