Night flights protestors defeated
CAMPAIGNERS vowed today to continue their fight for a ban on night flights from Heathrow Airport after a European Court ruling said the disturbance did not violate their human rights.
Eight people living near the airport have been battling for 10 years for a ban after the government relaxed restrictions on flights between 11.30pm and 6am.
They argued the noise violated their rights to privacy. A ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in 2001 backed the residents but, after an appeal by the British government, the court today overruled the earlier decision.
It said the economic importance of the 16 night flights from Heathrow outweighed that of the residents' right to a full night's sleep. However, it did rule that the campaigners should have been allowed to have their case heard in British courts, providing residents with fresh hope of a new legal challenge.
'The fight will take longer than originally thought but we think we have been given an opportunity to go back to the British courts and make our case there. We will carry on fighting,' said John Stewart, chairman of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (HACAN).
The government is currently consulting on night flying arrangements for London airports, and Mr Stewart now hopes the decision on these, due in 2004, will be delayed for a year to allow their case to be heard.
Martin Kessler, chairman of a campaign group fighting for a European-wide night flight ban, also said a European Union noise framework to be agreed in the next couple of years could prove significant.
'All the European airports have the same problem,' said Kessler, who also heads a residents' group in Frankfurt whose airport has around 150 night-time flights. 'It has been recognised that people have the right to sleep at night in their own homes. The European noise directive is a framework that will set a real limit on noise.'
Airports operator BAA runs Heathrow, which is the world's busiest international airport, ferrying some 63 million passengers to around 170 destinations from its four terminals. It said: 'Noise levels are strictly regulated by the government. We will continue to meet the government requirements. '
