As many as 3,000 additional flights could be operating out of Belfast City Airport every year, it has been claimed.
A leaked letter from the airport shows that planning agreements currently being drafted up look set to boost the maximum number of annual flights from 45,000 to 48,000.
Although that figure includes private jets and charter aircraft which were not covered by the old measurement, it is still raising concerns among residents who fear heightened noise levels.
Lobby group AirportWatch spokesperson Fiona McKinley said: “We know from our own grassroots feedback that the current level of flights is causing widespread disruption of people’s daily lives.”
She continued: “Many people are suffering broken sleep while, in some of the worst-affected neighbourhoods, people have to stop their conversation when a plane goes overhead.”
But Belfast City Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose defended the change, telling the BBC that new measurement would be fairer as it ensured “every movement counts”.
A Department of Environment spokesperson added: “The 48,000 limit doesn’t represent a substantive change and can be viewed as a tighter restriction since it now covers all flights.”
