The North Runway Technical Group (NRTG) was established to produce factual information about the North Runway, in a sea of spin and disinformation. The group comprises of private and commercial pilots, and a civil engineer (also a pilot) with input from a retired air traffic controller. They are proposing some operating changes that are straightforward to make, will increase runway capacity, reduce the number of people overflown and bring daa into compliance with their planning permission.
The recent draft decision concerning Dublin Airport Authority’s (daa) “relevant action” (RA) focuses on the number of night flights and the operational hours for the north runway. However, a major issue now brought to light by An Bord Pleanála’s (ABP) Planning Inspector is daa’s deviation from the originally approved route that was a key aspect of the 2007 planning permission granted for the north runway.
The approved route as requested by daa, requires planes to fly straight ahead for 5 nautical miles over empty fields and solar farms while climbing to 3,000 feet before making turns. Known in the aviation industry as the Noise Preferential Route (NPR), it was at the heart of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the runway’s planning permission.
In their 432-page report, ABP’s Planning Inspector clarifies that “the flight patterns submitted in the applicant’s supplementary information […] differ from those submitted in the original EIS for the North Runway application.” This is a very important clarification for the 30,000 people unnecessarily suffering the effects of aircraft noise.
“In 2007 ABP stressed that granting the permission was fundamentally based on environmental information supplied by daa and they reinforced this with Condition 1 requiring no deviation from the EIS” said civil engineer Gareth O’Brien, spokesperson for NRTG. “This clarification by ABP is significant because it confirms a deviation from the runway’s Noise Preferential Route, a clear breach of Condition 1 of the planning permission which remains in force.”
daa blames the Irish Aviation Authority
daa claims their decision not to align the north runway flight paths with the Noise Preferential Route was made at the instruction of the IAA for “safety reasons”. According to the Inspector, daa claims the Authority acted as consultant on the design of the present flight path routes that ignore the NPR.
ABP’s Inspector has highlighted that they have been forced to disregard many submissions showing alternative solutions and ignore daa’s failure to align with the NPR because IAA in its role as aviation safety regulator has not made a submission confirming or denying daa’s claims.
The Inspector notes that the IAA has 14 weeks from the date of publication of the draft decision during which they can make a submission. Several groups representing noise-affected residents, including NRTG, have had meetings with IAA senior management who have explained the IAA Safety Regulator’s role regarding approval of aerodrome procedures.
An Bord Pleanála’s inspector has made clear that IAA’s lack of response has been pivotal to their being forced to accept the present routing of flight paths from the north runway despite acknowledging they are not aligned with the planning permission.
The statement went on to say: “[the] North Runway Technical Group calls on IAA, as Ireland’s aviation safety regulator, to please make a submission to ABP and clarify its role in the approval of flight paths. We request that IAA confirm or deny daa’s contention that the Safety Regulator required daa to adopt the present flight paths as the only way to comply with safety regulations.”
More information about the North Runway Technical Group is available on their website at www.dublin-north-runway.com
