PRESS CONTACT: Magdalena Heuwieser, +43670 353 43 11, press@stay-grounded.org
130 initiatives from 15 countries have declared September 13th as the “International Day for the Ban on Night Flights at Airports”.
The declaration signed by the initiatives states: “Take-offs and landings during the night are an unreasonable burden with particularly harmful health consequences for all people in the vicinity of airports. They are unnecessary and avoidable.”
Most of the initiatives are resident’s groups affected by flights at airports such as Frankfurt, Athens, Nantes or Gatwick, and are part of the global network Stay Grounded.[1]
Fernando Ciria, an affected resident from the Madrid Barajas airport, said: ‘Every night there is a trail of planes flying over our houses. It is impossible to rest, we wake up every few minutes. Despite our complaints, airlines always finds justifications for operating flights at night. We are very disappointed’.
They say the damage caused by these flights to health and the climate is disproportionate to any alleged necessity of take-offs and landings at night and call for an immediate end to night flights at airports. This of course still allows for exceptions, such as medical emergencies.
Air traffic noise is associated with a variety of serious health problems. The most critical of these include heart disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment, especially in children, as well as mental health issues like depression. [2] One study estimates that night-time aircraft noise near Frankfurt airport has led to 2,340 hospitalisations and 340 deaths per year. [3]
Magdalena Heuwieser, spokesperson for the Stay Grounded network said: “Improved operational practices and technologies in aircraft will not be enough to solve the issue of aviation’s noise and health impacts. It is essential to reduce flights, especially night flights”.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Find the list of initiatives here: https://stay-grounded.org/ban-night-flights/
[2] See scientific data collected in the Report “Aviation is a Health Issue” from Stay Grounded, 2024, p3.
[3] Greiser, E. et al. (2013): Social and economic consequences of night-time aircraft noise in the vicinity of Frankfurt/Main airport.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
- Stay Grounded is a network of more than 200 member organisations around the world, aiming at reducing aviation in a fair and climate-safe way.