Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate how many people are adversely affected by night flights from Gatwick Airport in Tonbridge and Malling constituency.

It is not possible to define a single threshold beyond which people will be adversely affected by night noise as the effect will be different depending on the individual.

The Government recognises the costs on local communities from aircraft noise during the night, particularly the health costs associated with sleep disturbance. In our recent consultation on night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, we have quantified the effects of aircraft noise to a level of 48dB Lnight, which is the lowest level at which it is possible to reliably measure and predict average aircraft night noise levels. The Government has also proposed the establishment of an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise as a body whose functions would include advising on best practice and accessibility of noise information to facilitate community engagement on airspace proposals.