This Airport Received 12,272 Noise Complaints From Just One Person In A Year

A particularly annoyed person in Ireland made over 12,000 official complaints against Dublin Airport in 2021, which averages out at around 34 cases every day.

The unidentified complainant, from Ongar in northwest Dublin, issued 12,272 noise-related complaints last year to the Dublin International Airport ĄĒ that equates to over 90 percent of all complaints about noise at the airport in 2021, the Irish Independent reported.

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Previously DAA, which runs the airport, was receiving around 1,500 complaints in a single year.

However, the complaints made by this particular person are nothing new. They filed 6,227 complaints in the year 2020 and within the first three months of this current year, they have reportedly filed 5,276 complaints.

The person is not the only one who lodged complaints, though. In 2020, 128 people filed complaints. In 2021, 191 people filed complaints. However, air travel was severely hindered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representational Image/Unsplash

And while air travel has shown signs of getting back to pre-pandemic levels, it has also meant more complaints.

Understandably, most complaints came from residents living in the flight path of aircraft in northwest Dublin particularly Portmarnock, Swords, the Ward and St Margaret's, with the majority of them being about the evening and nighttime flights.

It was reported that aircraft that depart from Dublin Airport are supposed to adhere to a "noise preferential route" that involves either maintaining a straight line of travel for five nautical miles or hitting an altitude of 3,000 feet before turning.

Representational Image/Shutterstock

A DAA spokesperson did not comment directly on the complainant but said that the airport had introduced a new system to track and measure flight paths and noise issues, including a simplified complaint procedure.

"Dublin Airport is committed to working with the communities around the airport. This includes reducing aircraft noise in neighbouring communities, which is the joint responsibility of Dublin Airport, the Irish Aviation Authority and the airlines that use the airport, the spokesperson told Newsweek.

"There are a number of noise abatement measures in place and Dublin Airport is committed to working with the industry and other stakeholders to minimize the impact of noise on our neighbours and adjoining communities," they added.

"The introduction of a WebTrak system, an online tracking device, enables local communities to access flight paths and noise levels of aircraft using the airport. The system provides information on flight origin, destination, aircraft type, flight path and noise level registered on the airportĄ¯s noise monitoring terminals. The system also provides an additional simplified way for members of the public to submit noise complaints," they explained.

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