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CONVENTION EUROPEENNE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME
- CONCERNE LE TRAFIC AERIEN - "VOLS DE NUIT"

Londres le 02/10/2001

COMMUNIQUE de la BBC

"LA COUR EUROPEENNE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME CONDAMNE LE GOUVERNEMENT ANGLAIS POUR LES NUISANCES DE L'AEROPORT D' HEATHROW EN VIOLATION DES ARTICLES 8 et 13. Art 8: - Violation du Droit au respect de la vie privée et familiale et du domicile,et de la Convention Européenne des Droits de l'Homme et 13: - du Droit à un remède effectif (même convention)

Tuesday, 2 October, 2001, 10:42 GMT 11:42 UK

Night flights 'breach human rights'

Residents want flights restricted to daytime hours

Night flights to and from Heathrow Airport could soon be banned after the European Court of Human Rights said they infringed residents' rights.

The court decided flights between 11pm and 6am infringe a person's right to have a good night's sleep.
Airlines and airports across the country are likely to be affected by the decision, although it is not clear what short-term action the UK Government will take.

A small group of residents has taken on the UK Government and won

John Stewart Hacan

The case, brought against the Department of Transport by a group of residents living under the flight path, is also likely to have an impact on all other airports within the EU. \par
Members of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Hacan) say their sleep is badly affected by about 16 aircraft which arrive at Heathrow between four and six o'clock in the morning.

Nightly noise

A ban at Heathrow would stop all aircraft from taking off and landing in the night period and could be followed by challenges by anti-noise groups at other UK airports.
Hacan chairman John Stewart celebrated with champagne as he described the ruling as "great news" for everybody under the flightpath. \par
"A small group of residents has taken on the UK Government and won. The government may appeal, but I don't think it will.

We must wait and see how the government responds to understand what the impact may be for Heathrow "I think within 18 months we could see an end to overnight flights at Heathrow."

Mr Stewart added: "This ruling has opened the way for residents' groups across Europe to challenge night flying.
"The ban at Heathrow could be the first of many in the UK and Europe.
"East Midlands airport residents will particularly welcome this ruling as they suffer from a lot of overnight freight traffic.

A spokesman for airport operator BAA at Heathrow said it would continue working to find improvements.

Difficult balance
"We must wait and see how the government responds to understand what the impact may be for Heathrow.
"We have always recognised there is a difficult balance for government to strike on night flights between passengers' demand to fly, airlines' operational requirements, and the impact on local communities."

One resident living under the flight path, Virginia Godfrey, described the nightly noise from aircraft as intolerable.
She told the BBC: "It's loud enough to wake you up, and loud enough that you don't get back to sleep again once you've been woken up."