HOUSEHOLDERS living around Bristol Airport are protesting tonight against night flights.

The airport’s nearby neighbours are warning that planes flying over their homes during the night are disturbing sleep and causing a host of medical and mental conditions. Although the number of night flights are capped, campaigners say too many are still taking off.

At 6pm tonight (Friday), people who live in the villages around the airport will be bringing their teddies and pyjamas to a protest organised by Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) at the Felton Common car park opposite St Katherine’s Church.

It is part of a day of an international action with 70 groups representing airport neighbours around the world.

BAAN member Stephen Clarke said: “We are demonstrating today in solidarity with other residents around the world who are badly affected by night flights. From Bristol to Barcelona and from and from Antwerp to Amsterdam; together we say these damaging and unnecessary night flights should be banned.”

Richard Baxter, also a member of BAAN, said: “Various studies have shown that night flights cause a wide range of medical and mental conditions for those who suffer from severely disturbed sleep caused by aircraft noise.”

A declaration from the groups involved in the day of action warned: “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.

“Absolute exceptions, such as medical emergencies, do not stand in the way of banning night flights at airports. Night flights at airports must be stopped immediately. The damage to health and the climate is disproportionate to any alleged necessity of take-offs and landings at night.”

In 2022, BAAN took the airport to the High Court to unsuccessfully challenge its plans to expand to 12 million passengers a year. But the group has been continuing to challenge the airport and established a website (eyesonbristolairport.org) to track the number of flights to and from the airport using global API data.

Mr Baxter said: “Despite a yearly quota being placed on the airport there seems to be no control, or any disincentives placed on late flights that arrive at night. Airport management have little regard for the disturbances that local people have had to endure which affects their wellbeing.”

The group said that the airport had already exceeded its cap of 4,000 night flights for 2024 with four months still to go and had also exceeded the cap in 2023, and called on North Somerset Council to take action.

But a spokesperson for Bristol Airport said they were “unsure” how BAAN had arrived at their figures and that the accounting period for the cap on flights was summer – winter 2023/24 and did not follow the calendar year.

The spokesperson said: “For summer 2023 and winter 2023/24 there were 3,806 night flights, which is within the 4,000 limit for this reporting period. From 31 March to 4 August 2024, we have had 1,969 night flights.”

They added: “We are aware of the peaceful, organised protest planned on the A38 near the Airport on Friday evening (September 13).

 “The airport operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week under tight noise and environmental controls.  We work closely with the airlines and North Somerset Council to remain within our consented operating limits and report all night flights and dispensations to North Somerset Council on a monthly basis.”

A spokesperson for North Somerset Council said: “The planning conditions that control the level of flying at Bristol Airport were imposed by independent inspectors when they granted planning permission in 2022 for the expansion of the airport, after planning permission had initially been refused by the council.

“These conditions seek to limit the number of night time take offs and scheduled landings between 11.30pm and 6am. However, if the airport manager considers that preventing a take-off or landing within those hours could lead to significant congestion at the airport, cause serious hardship or suffering to passengers or animals, or is the result of delays to aircraft due to widespread and prolonged disruption of air traffic, extra flights during these hours can take place.

“These decisions are always made by the airport manager — not North Somerset Council. When these decisions are made, the airport manager then must write to the council within one month to inform it of any instance where this has taken place.

“The council is receiving this information and carefully reviews it to ensure that the planning conditions are being complied with.”