Luton Airport hits back at Harpenden campaign group over claims its flights breach 'night-time curfew'

Campaign group Harpenden Sky are lobbying against increased air travel over Harpenden with the support of its town council and MP Bim Afolami.

The group claims that Luton Airport and owner London Luton Airport Ltd [LLAL] have previously agreed to no flight departures or arrivals between 11pm and 6am, in order to provide relief to local residents.

Wizzair schedules regular flights from Luton to Eastern Europe between 5am and 6am, and Harpenden Sky has accused the airport of reneging upon its agreement.

Harpenden Sky chairman Neil MacArthur said the airport and its owners "were not to be trusted" and that expansion "must not be permitted to proceed".

He added: "Luton is becoming a 24-hour operating airport by stealth and residents must stand up and fight for their rights in establishing relief on the originally agreed times of 11pm to 6am.”

However, Luton Airport refuted these claims and stated these restrictions only apply to ad-hoc, non-commercial flights between the months of May and September.

Neil Thompson, operations director at Luton Airport said: “Like all major London airports, London Luton Airport is permitted to operate 24 hours a day.

"All early morning and late night departures comply with restrictions on operations at the airport, which are some of the most stringent in the UK.

"These include a ban on the noisiest types of aircraft and an annual limit on the number of flights.

"The early morning departures highlighted by Harpenden Sky fully comply with these.”

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