- Night flights are crucial for the economy in terms of tourism and trade
- Current night quota is key for creating new routes and passenger growth
2013-04-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — London Gatwick has asked that its current night flight quota remains consistent for the next regime in its response to the Department for Transport’s Night Flying Restrictions Consultation.
Gatwick believes it is essential that the quota remains the same going forward as the airport strives to make the best use of the single runway capacity it has available. As well as facilitating future passenger growth, this capacity will enable Gatwick to continue to develop essential new air links for the UK to key emerging markets, particularly in the Far East. The ability of airlines to land in the UK within the current quota can be critical to the commercial viability of the route.
Night flights are also crucial for the local and national economy, supporting tourism to the UK and enabling business travel. Today, use of Gatwick’s night flight quota can be attributed to around £41 million of the airport’s Gross Value Add (GVA) to the economy of London and the South East. Over 2,000 of the jobs generated by Gatwick are directly linked to night time operations at the airport. Any decrease in the night flight quota could impact on these substantial economic benefits, as well as restrict future opportunities.
Read Gatwick’s full response here.
Notes to Editors
- The Government has historically set restrictions on the operation of aircraft at night. The restrictions, known as the ‘night flying regime’, have been on: the overall number of night flights and the ‘Quota Count’ (QC) rating, or noise rating of each aircraft that takes off and lands at night. The QC system, which is also in use at Heathrow, incentivises airlines to use quieter aircraft at night through assigning points based on how noisy they are. The noisier the aircraft, the more QC ‘points’ they are assigned.
- The Department for Transport’s Night Flying Restrictions Stage 1 Consultation is the first step in setting the next night flights regime. It calls for evidence and views on options which may not have been considered in the past. These will inform the development of options for the next regime, and also the work of the Airports Commission.
- Gatwick’s night flight period is between 11pm and 7am.
- For 2012/13, Gatwick’s annual night movement limit was 14,450 aircraft movements. Of this, 79.6% or 11,505 movements were used.
- For 2012/13, Gatwick’s annual noise limit was 8,300 quota count points. Of this, 73.7% or 6,118 points were used.
- As a trend, the average QC rating of aircraft coming to Gatwick has fallen over time. Therefore, even though there are more aircraft movements, planes flying at night to and from Gatwick are getting quieter.
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About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves around 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 34 million passengers a year on short- and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
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