Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many flights have been permitted to fly above central London during the night quota period in the past 12 months, broken down into appropriate time periods; and what assessment they have made of the health consequences on residents from the disruption of sleep.

Night flight restrictions at Heathrow Airport are set by the Department for Transport and include a limit on scheduled movements during the night quota period (23:30-06:00). The movement limit is 2,550 for the winter season and 3,250 for the summer season. At Heathrow Airport, during the winter 2023-2024 season, there were a total of 2,544 movements in the night quota period. In the summer 2024 season, there were a total of 3,142 movements. These figures include flights which arrived from or departed to the west of the airport and did not fly over central London.

Flights over central London during the night quota period will also include flights on which the Government does not set restrictions, such as overflights in higher airspace, as well as helicopter flights by the police and other emergency services.

The most recent decision on night flight restrictions at the three noise-designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted), published on 17 December 2024, took into account health impacts and maintains existing restrictions through to October 2028.