Dublin Airport increases night time flights

Dublin Airport has been granted planning permission to increase the number of night-time flights it can operate and extend the hours that it can use its second runway.

The number of flights permitted at the airport as a whole has increased from an average of 65 a night to 95 between 23:00 and 07:00 local time.

Up to now, flights were not allowed to take off or land on the second runway, known as the north runway, between those hours, but they can now use the runway up to midnight and from 06:00.

The airport said a "noise quota scheme" would apply to the entire airport, meaning some types of aircraft that use the runways in night-time hours would be limited, depending on the noise they emit.

Aircraft that go over a noise limit will not be able to take off or land at night.

In its decision, An Comisiún Pleanála (Ireland's national independent planning body) said it applied a restriction of 35,672 night-time flights over a 364 day to "protect residential amenity".

It said the cap would allow for airport growth while providing an essential safeguard against excessive night-time activity.

The Commission also said it had decided to apply both a cap and a noise quota as it believed a quota system alone "could permit an increase in the number of night-time flights, without adequately considering the cumulative impact of increased flight volume on surrounding communities and environment".