Decision to relax night flying rules set to support multi-million pound investment at Birmingham Airport

A decision to increase the percentage of night flights arriving and departing from Birmingham Airport was approved by Solihull Borough Council's planning committee last night(January 8) in the face of strong opposition from local parish councils and from members of the public - some of whom were removed from the meeting to maintain order.

Previously, only 5% of the airport's scheduled flights were allowed to take place between 11.30pm and 6am, which has now been increased to 7.2%, despite five parish councils lodging objections on the grounds of noise and public health factors.

But following a majority decision from the committee to approve the changes, Birmingham Airport Chief Executive Nick Barton says the move will unlock investment in the airport worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and make the West Midlands a more attractive destination for airlines.

"We're obviously very pleased that the council supported the application, but we do recognise that we have impacts on our community so while it's an important step in the future of this airport, equally we always recognise there are negatives when we grow," he said.

"We're an airport and aircraft make noise - the good news is that those aircraft get better and better as time goes on and we've seen that in the historical evolution of the airport as we've grown we're able to carry more passengers per plane.

"The noise issue is absolutely one of those issues we will continue to try and improve upon, but in the round this was an important application which has consequences, we recognise those and will continue to work with our communities and the council to make sure we minimise that wherever possible."

The airport says that in the wake of the decision "significant" extra funding will also be put into a scheme which provides noise insulation for residents living nearby.

Mr Barton added that the move would support investment in the airport which is likely to run to "hundreds of millions" over the next few years, and increase the likelihood of attracting more routes from the West Midlands.

"There was quite a lot at stake here if we'd been operating under the existing noise restrictions which are quite significant - we are one of the most regulated airports in the UK with regard to night noise already, so making this adjustment was really bringing the policy into line with the way that aviation has evolved," he added.

"Even though we're achieving passenger numbers this year that were forecast 15 years ago, we're achieving that on 50,000 less flights a year so there's a significant improvement in the way the airport operates and I would expect that to continue in future as technology and innovation continues.

"We totally recognise the points that were made in the council meeting last night but equally this isn't growth without hope - there's a lot of improvements coming in our industry which will benefit our communities as we grow and make less impact as that growth is delivered.

"Birmingham's future is incredibly attractive at the moment as it's supporting a very strong region economically.

"This isn't just about Birmingham Airport, this is about everybody benefitting from it."