Controversial Birmingham Airport night flights approved by Solihull Council
Birmingham Airport will now have more night flights - despite locals claiming it is bad for their health.
Solihull Council has agreed to increase the cap on the number of night flights that can leave the airport between 11:30pm and 6am.
Previously, only 5% of the airport's flights were allowed to be at night. The new figure is 7.2%, a 40% increase.
Why has it been changed?
Birmingham Airport and Solihull Council want to increase the airports capacity because more people are flying. It’s predicted there will be about 94,000 flights in an out of Birmingham this year.
While the 5% cap hasn't gone up since 2009, passenger numbers have. There are expected to be 13 million people travelling through Birmingham airport this year, 40% more than 16 years ago.
The new cap means that, by 2026-27, they'll be able to facilitate 7,600 flights at night each year. 4,000 more flights than took off in 2022.
That's equivalent to an average of 21 per night, though the airport has said the majority would take place between 11:30pm and 1am and 5 and 6am.
At the moment Birmingham Airport contributes 1.2bn to the Solihull economy and 2.1 billion to the regional economy, according to aviation consultancy York Aviation.
The airport has said increasing the 5% cap could see an extra £225 million contributed to the economy and lead to more than 3,500 jobs being created.
Why are local residents up in arms?
There are a range of reasons, some focus on the environmental consequences of having more flights and others believe it will be bad for their health.
"It can increase the risk of heart disorders" Rosamond Nicholson is a member of Stop Birmingham Airport Expansion.
She told ITV News Central: “The WHO is extremely clear that at a limit of over 40 decibels you start to get health effects of sleep disturbance.
"The consequences of this can be obesity, attention deficit type disorders and for older people it can increase the risk of heart disorders.”
She adds that the area around Birmingham Airport is also one of the most densely populated of any urban airport.
Rosamond Nicholson said: "There are more people living within the 50 decibel noise contour of Birmingham airports than Stansted and Gatwick's 55 decibel corridor combined."
This view is supported by a study released on Wednesday which found people who live near airports may be at greater risk of poor heart health.
The team, from University College London, found people living in higher noise areas had worse heart health than those in quieter areas.
Those near airports had stiffer and thicker heart muscles that contracted and expanded less easily and were less efficient at pumping blood around the body.
The team said this can lead to heart attacks, life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes.
The scientists monitored 3,635 people who lived by airports in Birmingham, London and Manchester.
Senior author Dr Gaby Captur, of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science said: “Our study is observational so we cannot say with certainty that high levels of aircraft noise caused these differences in heart structure and function.
“However, our findings add to a growing body of evidence that aircraft noise can adversely affect heart health and our health more generally."
Birmingham Airport said that independent noise surveys were carried out as part of the consultation process, and they found that the average night noise wouldn't increase.
Solihull Council's planning committee said, despite the many objections from neighbouring residents, “no adverse impacts have been identified which would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the significant benefits.”
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know