Le Figaro Bordeaux
The nights are not always calm for residents of Bordeaux-Mérignac airport (Gironde).
Many aircraft movements (landings or take-offs) take place in the middle of the night, causing heavy noise pollution for residents of the neighboring municipalities of Haillan and Eysines.
Constituted in association, the inhabitants militate for the prohibition of these night flights.
In a letter addressed to the prefect of Gironde in October 2022, the president of the Aehdcna (Eysino-Haillanaise Association for the Defense against Airport Nuisances), Jean-Claude Gaudain, asks for the implementation of "
significant restrictions for night flights
.
He regrets that Mérignac airport is "
the only airport in France not to have restrictions to ensure a minimum of restful sleep for local residents
".
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In its 2022 annual report, the Airport Nuisance Control Authority (Acnusa) lists the night restrictions put in place by French airports.
Several of them have introduced a curfew (Beauvais, Orly, Nantes, Mulhouse and Toussus-le-Noble) and all have been subject to decrees introducing measures to reduce noise pollution between midnight and six o'clock.
Mérignac airport is however the only one not to appear on this list.
However, in its new roadmap "
towards a new sustainable airport model by 2027
", presented this Friday, December 16, Bordeaux-Mérignac airport "is
committed to reducing night flights by setting up a enhanced tariff modulation for airlines favoring daytime flights
”.
An incentive modulation, but not a ban strictly speaking.
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“The decision will be made by the state”
"
It's the meaning of the story
," says Simon Dreschel, director of Bordeaux airport, who would like to limit noise pollution in the "
heart of the night
" (between midnight and 5 a.m.).
But he specifies that “
the ban on night flights at the airport does not depend on us, the airport operator
”, because only the State can take this decision.
“
We are committed to reducing these night flights, but we cannot commit to stopping them
”.
It is indeed the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC), attached to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which is competent in this area.
Its mission is to “
guarantee the safety and security of air transport by placing the logic of sustainable development at the heart of its action
”.
It is she who “
takes care to reduce the nuisances, in particular sound and atmospheric, generated by air transport
”, and who “
also maintains the dialogue with the elected officials and the representatives of the residents of the airports
”.
These noise limitation measures are therefore taken on a case-by-case basis.
A curfew was notably introduced in Nantes in April 2022.
Although he cannot prevent aircraft movements at night, Simon Dreschel says he is using "
the weapons that are ours
": thanks to price modulation, "
an aircraft that lands at night and emits noise will pay twice as much as its fee
”.
The annual share of night flights is currently estimated at between 5 and 6% of aircraft movements.
In 2021, of the 48,000 take-offs and landings at Mérignac airport, 2,800 took place at night, i.e. just over seven night flights per night on average.
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Another claim from local residents relates to the possible disappearance of the secant runway of the aerodrome.
If it were to take place, traffic would shift to the main runway, causing further noise pollution.
Here again, the Bordeaux-Mérignac airport company, a State concessionaire, cannot act on its own.
“
The decision will be taken by the State, but these are long-term subjects so there will not be a cleaver overnight
,” says Simon Dreschel.
While he hopes for a decision in the coming months, because "
there is a need to rule on this, the territory needs it
", the director indicates that the new roadmap "
is designed to move forward
", whatever the decisions made.