Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney will introduce the  'Airports (Prohibition of Night Flights) Bill' in Parliament today (15 January).

The Bill, if introduced, would force the Government to deliver a report to Parliament on the benefits of banning flights that depart or take off between the hours of 11pm and 6am.

The legislation, which is backed by 6 cross-party MPs, comes as part of Olney's long-running campaign against night flights, which began when Heathrow Airport saw a shocking 724% increase in night time flying between 2021 and 2022. 

This data, collected by the House of Commons Library, showed the number of late running arrivals to Heathrow increased from 86 to 709 over the period.

Night flights are the most intrusive and damaging form of airport noise, putting millions of people across the UK at a higher risk of mental and physical illness, including an increased risk of stroke, cardiovascular issues, mood swings, and alcohol and drug dependency. 

Olney previously held a Parliamentary Debate on the topic in November 2022, which subsequently saw Heathrow announce a voluntary ban on night flying from the airport between midnight and 4:30 am. 

Despite this, last year Heathrow received more than 8,000 additional noise complaints compared to 2022 despite claims by the airport that aviation is becoming significantly quieter. 

Olney has accused Conservative Ministers of being 'tone deaf' on the issue, and encouraged the Government to work with her on the issue or risk continuing to leave airport communities defenceless against the practise. 

Richmond Park MP, Sarah Olney said: "Millions of people living under flight paths like my constituents in Richmond Park are often woken in the middle of the night by the roar of jet engines.

"It's affecting their health, work, and personal lives, yet Conservative Ministers are still tone deaf to the problem. 

"The Government dogmatically spits out the line that these flights are vital to the economy, but they've never assessed the real damage night flights are doing to people's lives. 

"Rather than keeping their heads in the sand, Ministers should support this legislation and take concrete steps to understand the damage these flights are having on our communities."

Paul Beckford, Coordinator at HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) said: "Local communities around airports deserve to have undisturbed sleep and should not have their physical and mental health put at risk by late running or very early morning flights. 

"The evidence to support more robust operational restrictions at night grows with every piece of academic evidence published.

"It is time that Government prioritises the protection of local communities from unnecessary aviation noise pollution."