AIRPORT bosses have been served with an enforcement notice after overnight flights were found to have breached noise rules.

Issued by Leeds City Council on Monday, September 16, it requires Leeds Bradford Airport to stop breaking the rules by flying older, noisier planes at night.

The Enforcement Notice specifically prohibits planes with a noise Quota Count of 1 (QC1) from flying at LBA between 11pm and 7am.

LBA has until November 14 to comply with the notice or it may appeal.

LBA said the breaches were “historic” and measures to restrict such flights had been in place since 2023.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council confirmed it had served the notice saying: “The notice relates to certain night-time flight departures which the council has concluded breached a condition attached to a previous grant of planning permission.

“The notice requires the airport to take steps to ensure there are no further breaches of the condition.

“The airport has the right to appeal against the serving of the notice.”

The move was welcomed by GALBA, the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport, which campaigns against night flights.

Nick Hodgkinson, Chair of GALBA said: “This action by the Council is very welcome. LBA has been ignoring the rules by flying noisy old planes in the early hours when people are trying to sleep.”

“So this Enforcement Notice is good news for everyone who lives under the flight path. We congratulate Leeds City Council for taking responsibility in its role as LBA’s regulator.”

Aircraft are given a Quota Count (QC) number based on their noise impact around airports.

Leeds City Council said LBA data showed there were 272 night-time departures by QC1 aircraft between July 11, 2008, and December 23, 2019.

The enforcement notice said non-compliance with the planning condition “fails to minimise the potential for increased noise disturbance to residents in the vicinity of the airport.”

It added: “It appears to the council that the above breach of planning control has occurred within the last ten years.”

LBA previously appealed against separate planning decisions by the council restricting night-time flights.

The airport company has also called for a public inquiry into night flight planning conditions.

An LBA spokesperson said: “This enforcement notice relates to a small proportion of historic breaches by older, nosier aircraft of night-time departure limits.

“In 2023, we implemented robust measures to actively manage the use of these aircraft, with any airline found to be in breach of the restrictions now being fined and the monies raised put towards local community causes.”