About 150 people gathered at a crossroads near St Margaret’s and The Ward in sight of Dublin Airport’s north runway on Friday evening in protest at what they claim are an excessive level of night flights over their homes.
The protest, which took place on International Day Against Night Flights, was organised in conjunction with the worldwide campaign group Stay Grounded.
The protesters, most of whom live locally, were heavily critical of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), which they say is determined not to be bound by restrictions on night time flights and passenger numbers.
Niamh Maher of St Margaret’s said the excessive number of night-time flights was disturbing her family’s sleep.
In relation to the possibility of raising the number of flights at Dublin Airport beyond what is permitted in its planning permission, she said “the planning permission needs to be adhered to. Enforcement needs to happen. People need to be held accountable.”
The situation has worsened since the opening of the airport’s north runway, she said.
“There is no getting used to it,” she said. She claimed Dublin had a higher proportion of night-time aircraft movements than Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt, “which set strict limits on flights between 11pm and 5.30am”.
Local St Margaret’s resident Liam Ó Gradaigh said the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority, which monitors noise around the airport, had said the number affected by nightly noise levels above 55 decibels should not exceed the numbers affected in 2019.
In 2019, he said, there were 1,500 people living in the vicinity of the airport where noise levels exceeded 55 decibels on average at nightacross the year.
“But in 2023 there were 4,500 people living in the area who were subjected to noise levels of more than 55 decibels, on average across that year. This represents a tripling of the numbers affected by noise,” he said.
Locals Annette Akinrinde and Marianne O’Keeffe said they had joined the protest because they could not sleep at night. Local Fingal county councillor Anne Graves called on the authorities to divert some flights to other airports. She said DAA had diverted some flights to Cork, but more could go to Shannon.
“They could divert cargo flights to Shannon very easily. Shannon has the infrastructure and is all set up for it,” she said.
Stay Grounded is a global network which claims more than 200 member organisations opposing the expansion of the aviation industry.
