Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2016 to Question 50202, on Heathrow Airport: night flying, what (a) flexibility and (b) penalties for violation the Government plans to put in place in respect of the six-and-a-half hour ban on night flights from an expanded Heathrow Airport.

The Government is seeking a legally binding ban on scheduled night flights of six and a half hours at an expanded Heathrow. This would provide an extra hour and a half free from noise compared to today’s operation. The rules around the operation of night flight restrictions would be determined through consultation in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Balanced Approach to noise management. Furthermore, it is also expected that new binding noise targets and runway alternation arrangements would be consulted on with local communities as part of the planning process.