The opening of the new €320m North Runway and an overall increase in aircraft movements following the easing of restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic have led to a threefold increase in the number of complaints about noise at Dublin Airport last year.
New figures published by the airport operator, DAA, show a total of 608 individuals made a complaint about noise disturbance from airplanes taking off and landing at Dublin Airport last year compared to 174 in 2021.
The figures show a spike in the number of people making complaints after the new runway opened in late August with 193 individuals filing a total of 2,457 complaints about aircraft noise in September alone.
Most complaints came from residents of Kinsealy, Portmarnock, Swords, Dunboyne and Malahide and related to flights taking off at night.
However, the exact number of complaints relating to aircraft using the North Runway is unclear as separate figures have still to be collated by DAA.
Following a review undertaken in consultation with the Irish Aviation Authority after a large number of complaints about aircraft noise, airport management said departure flight paths would be reversed to align more closely with the original planned route.
The proposed changes are due to come into effect on February 23, 2023.
DAA acknowledged that an issue about flight path had been identified after the runway became operational which resulted in some local communities being overflown
The issue had generated significant controversy in communities in north Dublin affected by such flights and led to a large protest outside Fingal County Council in December.
Overall, the total number of noise complaints received by DAA last year was 26,196 – up from 13,568, representing an annual increase of 93%.
The figures included 31 complaints about noise from ground operations at Dublin Airport last year, with most cases being filed by residents living in Swords and Santry.
A DAA spokesperson declined to comment on the latest figures.
However, as in previous years, the vast majority of complaints – 89% of all cases logged in 2022 – were filed by a single individual who has lodged dozens of complaints on an almost daily basis since 2019.
Last year, the complainant, who is believed to live in Ongar in north-west Dublin, filed a total of 23,431 complaints about aircraft noise at Dublin Airport – a daily average of 64.
In one particular month - July 2022 - the individual reported 2,616 incidents regarding noise – a daily average of 84 complaints.
Excluding reports from the serial complainant, the number of complaints still more than doubled from 1,296 in 2021 to 2,765 last year.
According to DAA, a wide variety of commercial aircraft use Dublin Airport ranging from smaller turboprop aircraft to wide-body jets like the Boeing 777.
However, the majority of movements involve medium-sized jets with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series aircraft accounting for more than 66% of the total.
DAA's Noise and Flight Track Monitoring System, which uses seven fixed noise monitoring terminals around north Dublin, shows the vast majority of commercial flights using Dublin Airport adhere to designated flight paths on approach and take-off.
Under a noise management plan, aircraft taking off from Dublin Airport should adhere to a "noise preferential route" – a flight path designed to avoid overflight of built-up areas where possible – and maintain a straight course for five nautical miles or reach an altitude of 3,000 feet before commencing a turn.
