Consultation Meetings for the BCA Development Plan 2040

The airport is holding a series of consultation meetings on their development plan on three successive Thursdays:

• Thursday 2 October 2025 – Riddell Hall, QUB, South Belfast (2–4pm & 6–8pm)

• Thursday 9 October 2025 – Templemore Baths, East Belfast (2–4pm & 6–8pm)

• Thursday 16 October 2025 – Holywood Library, North Down (2–4pm & 6–8pm)

If these plans are implemented even in part, they could destroy normal family life in Belfast. As we have pointed out many times in the past, aircraft noise affects more  residents in Belfast than either Gatwick or Heathrow! And they are intending to double the dose!

If you don’t want your sleep, your cardiac health, your children’s education and even the value of your property negatively impacted, you should make your opposition to these plans crystal clear.

In case you think that we are exaggerating these dangers you should Google “aircraft noise and its effects on health and on children’s education” and you’ll be alarmed at what you will learn. If you are to avoid these assaults on your health and that of your children you must make a point of attending one of these meeting and  tell the airport of your concerns.

Some questions you might ask of them are given below:

The airport is suggesting it wants to abolish the all-important 9.30 pm curfew. This would be devastating for residents and their children, whose sleep would be seriously disturbed. It is bad enough having flights up to 9.30 pm with extensions being allowed under the “exceptional circumstances “ get-out. Even with the rigorous monitoring by the BCAW team, too much use is being made of this loophole now. We need enforcement of the existing  rule, NOT a change of allowable hours which would change the whole character of City airport into a duplicate of Belfast International.

Why, if passenger numbers from the island of Ireland are forecast to double, is Belfast City Airport forecasting a trebling of theirs?

This trebling of passenger numbers is allegedly to be achieved by only doubling the number of flights. If the aircraft now are full or nearly full, this can only done by using larger and noisier planes.

The airport maintains that it will be using quieter aircraft. We have been told that every year since the day it opened and we are still waiting.

Why is the airport asking for permission for 61,000 flights when it is currently using less than 30,000 of a permitted 48,000? It should wait until hitting the current cap before looking for another 13.000. Where are the extra 4.6 million passengers to come from when the airport admits that flights to UK, which are the main source of business passengers, will grow only slowly. Are we going to be kept awake by holiday flights taking money out of Northern Ireland?

YOU SHOULD:

• Go to the meetings

• Ask your questions

• Express your opposition to the plan

• Contact your MP or MLA

If you can’t go to any of the meetings make sure that you fill in the consultation questionnaire.

And finally,

DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY.

The current Planning Agreement was arrived at after a Public Inquiry. Only a Public Inquiry can separate fact from fiction. Only a Public Inquiry can challenge the grandiose claims of millions of pounds of investment for Northern Ireland, thousands of jobs created and all without the use of any public funds!

PS. Who is going to pay for the realisation of the wonderful drawings of the new terminal? The airport or you the taxpayer?