London City Airport to appeal against flying hours block

Newham Council voted against proposals for the airport

London City Airport officials say they will appeal against a council decision to block plans to expand flying times on Saturdays.

Newham Council's strategic development committee unanimously voted against the proposals in a meeting on Monday.

About 1,600 people living near the east London airport objected to the plans, alongside eight other London councils.

Robert Sinclair, the airport's CEO, admitted he was disappointed with Newham Council's decision.

• City Airport fails in bid to extend flying hours

• London City Airport plans extra weekend flights

Airport officials had hoped to see a change to a "weekend respite" rule that has been in place for the past 25 years.

Under the policy, planes are banned from flying between 13:00 on Saturdays and 12:30 on Sundays so residents can have a break from the noise.

City Airport wanted to extend its flying times to 19:30 during the summer and 18:30 at other times of year, as well as increasing its daily limit of flights from six to nine between 06:30 and 07:00.

Mr Sinclair told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We are disappointed with Newham Council's refusal of our proposals that will deliver significant benefits to our local community including new jobs, more choice of holiday destinations for passengers and better local transport connections.

"We have worked incredibly hard to develop proposals that genuinely reflect concerns raised, sought feedback from our local community and worked closely with the council's planning officers."

He added: "If the appeal can be determined shortly, our airlines will be able to progress re-fleeting to cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft sooner; delivering more choice for passengers, more jobs for local people and reducing the overall noise impact as early as next summer."

A spokesperson for Newham Council said the plan will be referred to the Greater London Authority.

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