the northsideNewsfree Airport noise quota ‘will increase levels’

Dublin Airport’s proposed noise quota system, which it hopes will replace the existing night-time cap on flights, will result in “many more air traffic movements” at night and a likelihood that “the overall noise will increase”, according to an expert analysis.

The analysis of the quota system – a kind of ‘noise budget’, proposals for which are being considered currently by An bord Pleanála – notes that the quota for Dublin “far exceeds the totals in Gatwick, Heathrow, and Stansted”.

Dr Eoin King, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at the university of Galway, has argued that the airport’s proposed noise quota should be reduced and that it should be operated in conjunction with a movement limit on flights, according to the business Post. Without a movement limit, the airport’s operator, DAA, could potentially operate “unlimited” flights on certain categories of aircraft, he said.

DAA, which operates Dublin Airport, also wants to reduce restrictions on nighttime flights by expanding its unrestricted daytime operating hours by an hour at each end, from 6am to midnight instead of the current system of 7am to 11pm.

Meanwhile, DAA has said it is actively monitoring taxi driver activity after complaints that few taxis are servicing the official rank in the early hours of the morning. While scores of people are standing at an empty rank, many taxis that are summoned using mobile phone apps may be waiting in a car park. Multiple flights are arriving from holiday destinations after midnight, and, on one occasion

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recently, there were 60 adults, as well as many children, queuing at the official taxi rank.

“There were no taxis. in the 15 minutes we waited, one arrived,” a source told the irish independent.

“However there was 30 taxis available via the Freenow app at the same time. They were accessible by walking a few hundred metres to the car park, where there was no wait time.” it appears that the issue relates to only airport-permitted taxis can access the rank.

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Noise and taxis at the airport

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Online taxi service are permitted by DAA to use the car park – but no-one knows they are available.

A spokesperson for DAA said: “Some passengers will occasionally face queues for a very short period late at night when there is extremely high demand across Dublin city for taxis, especially if there are major sporting or concert events happening.

“The Dublin Airport team always acts quickly, issuing telephone calls to encourage additional taxis to come to the airport, which helps clear the queues quickly.”

DAA insists that in the past month, nine out of 10 passengers queuing for a taxi at the airport waited 10 minutes or less at the taxi rank, and that the average waiting time was less than five minutes.

“That’s down from less than eight minutes this time last year,” the spokesman said.

“The DAA is working hard to reduce wait times even further for passengers. We have recently issued an additional 300 new permits to bring to over 2,000 the number of permits in operation at Dublin Airport. We are actively monitoring driver activity very closely to ensure all those with permits are operating a minimum number of journeys from the airport each quarter.”