Night flights cost UK economy £860m a year (From Your Local Guardian)

Night flights cost UK economy £860m a year because workers living under flight paths can't get a good night's sleep, Dutch report finds

9:00am Thursday 27th January 2011 in Top Stories By Paul Teed

Thousands of residents living under Heathrow’s flight paths suffer from so much sleep deprivation and stress it costs the UK economy £860m a year, a report claimed today.

Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park, presented the research at the Houses of Parliament today, marking the start of campaign group Hacan Clearskies’ bid to lobby MPs ahead of a new agreement with airlines from October next year.

The report, by Dutch economists CE Delft, claims the economy would benefit if the Government banned night flights at Heathrow.

The airport has been allowed an average of 16 landings and take-offs between 11.30pm and 6am each night, but Richmond residents living under the flight paths have complained about the noise and the impact on sleep.

Mr Goldsmith said: “The report is hugely timely because the Government is set to review the night flight regime later this year.

“It is hard to know what the cost of the disturbance is, and I wouldn’t want to comment on the given figure. But over half-a-million people live underneath the flight path, and the inevitable sleep disturbance, and associated health problems surely take their toll.

“This is an economic issue, but it is also a quality of life issue, and as the local MP, I will do all I can to ensure the night flight regime is tightened.”

Jasper Faber, author of the report, claimed the boost in residents’ productivity would outweigh any loss of income to the aviation industry.

John Stewart, chairman of Hacan, said: “We commissioned this report to test out the claims that a night flight ban would damage the economy. Its dramatic findings destroy the last remaining argument for night flights.”

CE Delft argued that the national economy would only be harmed - losing up to £35m - if none of the passengers who currently arrive on flights before 6am failed to transfer to planes landing at other times.

However, the report stated passengers were “highly unlikely” to do this.

A Heathrow spokesman said: "At the last night flights consultation in 2006 we did not seek any increase in flights during the night period and our position has not changed since then. We look forward to participating fully in the next Government consultation."