ABTA has responded to the Government’s consultation on night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted emphasising that any system must strike a balance between the commercial benefits of meeting demand and the impact of night flights on local communities and the surroundings.
ABTA states that it’s essential for airlines to work closely with local communities and continue to speculate in newer, quieter aircraft and to further improve their environmental performance. However the contribution of night flying to the economy, particularly the local area ought to be recognised. At Heathrow in 2011, night flights contributed £543m to the economy directly, supporting 6,800 jobs and generating £102m in tax revenue¹.
Luke Pollard, ABTA Head of Public Affairs said: “Night flights may be an emotive subject because noise specifically may be particularly disruptive for local communities. quite a lot of progress have been made in reducing noise that is especially important at night or early within the morning, and we encourage airports, airlines, the govt. and native communities to continue to make further improvements.
Airlines must be encouraged to speculate in quieter, more efficient aircraft instead of punitively restricting the extent of night flights particularly on the capacity- constrained airports around London, which might only lead to higher prices for consumers and more delayed or cancelled flights.
Night flights contribute significantly to the economy and enable thousands of holidaymakers and business traveller to fly every year. ABTA believes a balance should be struck between the massive economic contribution of those flights and the impacts they’ve on local communities. The aviation industry must also continue to take steps to cope their environmental impacts in order for solutions are located that work for the industry and native communities alike. “