Sinn Féin spokesperson calls for compromise on Dublin airport night time flights

Sinn Féin’s Transport spokesperson Martin Kenny has called for “an overarching approach” by the Department of Transport to the issue of night time flights at Dublin airport.

Mr Kenny told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that while there were private companies involved, there was “a much bigger picture” and that the Minister for Transport himself had a role to play.

DAA on Tuesday evening secured a temporary High Court stay on a decision it claims will force it to significantly reduce the number of night-time flights going to and from Dublin airport.

Mr Justice Conor Dignam also granted DAA permission to bring a challenge against last month’s decision by Fingal County Council to issue an enforcement notice against DAA for allegedly breaching the terms of planning permission obtained in respect of the airport’s North runway.

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DAA claimed that if the stay, pending the outcome of the full action, was not granted by the court the airport operator faced the prospect of possibly having to cancel thousands of flights, causing disruption to over 700,000 passengers.

The enforcement notice, which gave DAA six weeks to reduce the number of flights, was issued in late July arising out of complaints about excessive noise from residents living near the runway.

“We’ve got the airlines, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), the local authorities. We have the Airport Noise Competent Authority. We have an awful lot of agencies here. All we need is an overarching approach to call everyone together and resolve the situation and sort it out to the benefit of everybody involved,” said Mr Kenny.

The situation was very difficult and it was unfortunate that it had come to this stage, he said. The only way to resolve the issue was through dialogue rather than going to court, he added.

Airport first

Mr Kenny acknowledged Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s point that the airport was built first and the housing developments affected by the noise from aircraft came after.

He said that if there was “a little bit of compromise” the situation could be resolved through negotiation and dialogue.

“It’s really up to everyone to get their heads around the table here and ensure that they can resolve this issue because the court is a bad place to be involved with because it only heightens tensions and puts it in a place where it’s more difficult to resolve.”