HC Deb 02 November 1995 vol 265 cc468-9W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he has taken to limit night flights in the south-east; what is(a) the current and (b) the proposed fine for flying at the wrong hours and on the wrong course. [40712]

Mr. Norris

My right hon. Friend may specify restrictions on aircraft taking off or landing at aerodromes designated for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982. The only airports so designated are Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. For all other airports, such as Luton and London City, night restrictions may be imposed voluntarily by the airport operator or may be imposed by planning conditions.

Since 24 October 1993, night restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted have comprised a maximum number of movements which can be made at each airport each season with a quota, related to an aircraft's noise classification on take-off or landing, as a supplementary control designed to encourage the use of quieter aircraft. The movements limits and quotas apply during the night quota period from 2330 to 0600. There are also restrictions on the noisiest types of aircraft from 2300 to 2330 and from 0600 to 0700 to provide further protection. Further details are set out in the annex to my announcement of 16 August 1995, a copy of which was placed in the House Library. Monitoring returns are provided by the airport companies to their respective airport consultative committees.

At the designated airports, my right hon. Friend also prescribes noise preferential departure routes and sets noise limits for departing aircraft. There are no statutory powers to penalise poor track keeping on the noise preferential routes. Financial penalties for infringements of the noise limits are imposed by the airport companies under their charging powers. The financial penalties for breaches of the night noise limit-102 PNdB, 89 dBA—are £500 for exceeding the limit by 3dB or less and £1,000 for breaches of more than 3dB. On 3 October, we published a consultation paper proposing a 2dB reduction in the night limit and a 3dB reduction in the daytime limit plus an improvement in monitoring efficiency by increasing the number of noise monitors and improving their location.