Proposed changes to Dublin Airport’s night-time operations, if approved, will bring significant health risks, particularly for people living under the flight path of its North Runway, that have not been adequately addressed by Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). That is the verdict of leading medical specialist on disrupted sleep, Dr John Garvey, director of the Sleep Laboratory at St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin.
A long-running dispute – centring on noise issues but also infrastructure development, regulatory interpretation and community impact relating to the airport – is about to come to a head as An Bord Pleanála (ABP) is due to give its final determination on night-time flights and noise levels.
In reports submitted to ABP, Dr Garvey is highly critical of data supplied by the DAA, which runs the airport – notably on the likely impact of “awakenings” caused by night flights.
[ ‘We’re blasted out of it’: Living under Dublin Airport’s flight pathsOpens in new window ]
“The changes proposed by the DAA ... are likely to harm health, especially in terms of sleep quality,” he concluded in a report submitted in November 2023, in response to a revised environmental impact assessment and a noise report by Prof Thomas Penzel which were submitted by the DAA.
The DAA applied in 2020 to ease restrictions on the North Runway even before it opened in August 2022.
[ Residents and Transport Minister signal `constructive’ Dublin Airport talksOpens in new window ]
“The evidence [presented to ABP] clearly demonstrates the significant health risks posed by the proposed changes to Dublin Airport’s operational hours. These risks are magnified in North Dublin, where elevated stroke incidence and cardiovascular vulnerability underscore the urgency of action,” Dr Garvey said in his most recent report on behalf of the St Margaret’s The Ward Residents Group.
Records show north Dublin already has a significantly higher stroke incidence rate compared to other European cities, he notes.
Dr Garvey’s submission followed a draft ABP decision last September on DAA’s bid to alter planning restrictions which prevented the North Runway from being used for landings or take-offs between 11pm and 7am, and a 65-movement cap applying across the airport during the same time period.
The board provisionally accepted DAA’s bid to replace the cap on night-time aircraft movement with a noise quota system, but also introduced a movement limit of 13,000 flights per year, based on how such schemes operate in the UK. There is a High Court stay on this, pending a final decision.
It also said the runway should be in use for take-offs and landings up to midnight only, and then for take-offs only between 6am and 8am.
DAA had proposed using the North Runway from 6am to midnight and introducing a “noise quota count system” from 11.30pm to 6am. It also committed to enhanced noise insulation grants for those most impacted.
However, Dr Garvey said the absence of health impact data and detailed “noise mapping” (indicating where noise from planes is concentrated) in the DAA’s response to a request from ABP for further information “highlights the inadequacy of the current approach”.
Comprehensive mitigation measures informed by independent analysis and community needs were essential to safeguard public health, he said. “A night-flight ban, coupled with movement caps and robust noise mitigation measures offers a proven strategy to balance economic and public health priorities.”
Speaking to The Irish Times, Dr Garvey said the DAA addressed the issue of awakenings arising from air traffic movements at night across the Greater Dublin Area, but not in relation to specific areas in north Dublin – as would be carried out in other jurisdictions.
In this case, it needed to be done in light of “well-structured research” on increased vulnerability of people to stroke and other cardiovascular risks in the area, he said.
He said he accepts research on sleep impacts in some cases show “association” rather than more difficult-to-prove “causation”, but that there are unaddressed issues raised by residents and his analysis.
In his first report, Dr Garvey detailed far-reaching consequences of sleep disruption and inadequate sleep including physical effects “extending beyond the realm of mere physical fatigue”, and on mental health – affecting children in particular.
In particular, “single noise events” such as an aircraft taking off can have pronounced effects on sleep quality and wellbeing. Recent data suggested night-time aircraft noise could trigger acute cardiovascular mortality; “a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia”, at exposures of 40-50 decibels (dB).
An interim target of 55 dB lnight (a measure of the night time long-term average noise indicator used to assess sleep disturbance) applied in the airport’s noise action plan “is not a health-based limit value by itself and allows a continued risk of negative health effects”, he concluded.
The World Health Organisation recommends a target for traffic noise of less than 40dB lnight.
A typical take-off of a Boeing 747 or Airbus 320 would generate at least 50dB – adjusted to human hearing.
[ Dublin Airport operator launches noise information portal for residentsOpens in new window ]
Contrary to Prof Penzel’s opinion, the probability of additional awakenings “is an accepted and appropriate assessment tool”, he said, as flights characterised by their intermittent and often unpredictable nature can disrupt sleep patterns, cause awakenings or alteration in sleep stages.
A report by Bikerdike Allen Partners, also for the DAA, “poorly presented the data on additional awakenings associated with the proposed changes and have misrepresented the population that will truly be affected by additional awakenings. The manner in which they have presented their data is unreferenced and not in keeping with European norms,” Dr Garvey wrote.
Assuming that the affected population is uniformly healthy is unfounded, Dr Garvey submitted, with older people particularly vulnerable to lighter and fragmented sleep, predisposing them to awakenings and increased cardiovascular stress.
There is a lot of commentary on economic impact but little focus on human “health cost”, he said. “There is a duty on ABP to raise this issue. I’m highlighting this has relevance in this conversation.”
Data on sleep disruptions late at night showed they could have a disproportionate effect, he said. The one hour’s additional flexibility being sought by the DAA could hinder the process of falling asleep.
Dr Garvey accepted “perception” arising that people’s experience of disruptions may have a real objective impact on health and sleep.
But he added in his first report: “The DAA has contributed to a negative framing of the proposed changes by local residents. When the runway opened, flight paths adopted by planes leaving the airport did not comply with the flight plans that had been submitted and environmentally assessed when planning was granted for the runway.”
Residents who had a reference point of no airport noise and no expectation of it affecting them “might have initially likely framed their living environment as peaceful”.
This perception shift “has probably amplified some residents’ sense of loss and annoyance”, leading to mistrust between the DAA and local communities which, once present, can be almost impossible to remedy, he found.
Residents contend the DAA has shown bad faith in what they call ignoring conditions of the original grant of permission.
Dr Garvey said actions are urgently needed to minimise disruptions and associated health risks, including retaining a 13,000 movement cap backed by comprehensive noise mapping of areas where people are experiencing additional awakenings to align with international standards.
He called for targeted health surveillance of high-risk populations including older people and those with chronic illnesses, with close monitoring for long-term effects of noise exposure.
DAA is extending grants for affected residents, but mitigation measures such as soundproofing of schools and bedrooms are impractical and potentially counterproductive as they raise issues about indoor air quality, Dr Garvey said. “Soundproofed bedrooms face issues of increased humidity, poor air circulation and rising indoor temperatures, all of which detrimentally affect sleep quality and overall health.”
Implementation of a night-flight ban would significantly reduce sleep disruptions and protect vulnerable populations, he said. Such bans are increasingly applied to major international airports such as Frankfurt, Sydney and Zurich – and in this case will “yield substantial public health benefits for the North Dublin region”.
A DAA spokesman said that “given a final planning decision on night-time flights is understood to be imminent, it would be inappropriate for DAA to comment directly on the submissions of a third party”.
The spokesman said ABP’s review of the noise regulator’s 2022 decision about appropriate noise mitigations and runway operations at Dublin Airport included three separate public consultations.
He cited the comment of DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs when announcing a new noise information portal for the local community in April: “We know that airport operations impact the community around us and we take that seriously. We have to strike a balance between operating a major international airport and ensuring Ireland has the connectivity it needs with the needs of those living close to the airport. That’s always going to be difficult, but we are constantly working to minimise the impact and listen to community feedback.”
Before the North Runway’s opening, aircraft used to fly over heavily populated areas of Dublin city, he noted, adding that data from the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority found a significant reduction in people significantly impacted by noise between 2019 and 2023.
“Specifically, there was a 38 per cent reduction, which translates to 44,350 fewer people affected,” he added. “Key factors driving this ... include fewer homes being overflown, more modern and quieter aircraft, and adoption of noise mitigation measures by DAA.”
The authority has spent more than €20 million to date on noise mitigation, including insulation schemes and purchasing eligible local homes, the spokesman said.
The announcement in January of an additional grant scheme meant up to 400 more homes would be offered a €30,000 grant for insulation.
The spokesman highlighted research conducted by Red C for DAA which revealed strong local support for Dublin Airport, with 86 per cent of Fingal residents supporting further development of the airport to allow it to grow, while “two in every three residents view Dublin Airport as a trustworthy neighbour”.
