Stop unlimited night flights at Leeds Bradford Airport!
Stop unlimited night flights at Leeds Bradford Airport!
Latest: March 11, 2026
Help us stop more night flights!
Leeds Bradford Airport is relentless in its determination to increase night time flying. That would damage the climate, harm human health and pollute the air.
So it won’t surprise you to know that LB…
Read moreWe are the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) and we are doing everything in our power to prevent Leeds Bradford Airport from expanding.
So far, we’ve been really successful! We fought off LBA’s expansion application in 2022. And in 2024 we persuaded Leeds City Council to reject LBA’s attempt to rewrite the rules that limit the number of night flights.
But now LBA’s bosses have asked the government’s Planning Inspectors to overturn Leeds City Council’s night flights decision, at a Public Inquiry to be held in March 2025.
If LBA win, they would be allowed to fly an unlimited number of planes at night! We need to raise £30,000 for our legal fighting fund. Please will you help?
More flights would mean more harm to human health and more climate-wrecking greenhouse gas emissions - just when we need to cut those emissions as fast and as much as possible.
More night flights are absolutely central to LBA’s growth plans because without significantly increasing the number of night flights, the airport simply cannot expand.
LBA’s bosses think they can act with impunity.Thankfully GALBA is always one step ahead of them to prove that they can’t!
The majority of GALBA’s work is done by a very small group of volunteers who commit a vast amount of time and energy to blocking LBA’s expansion plans.
At every stage of our fight, we have relied heavily on the expert advice of the UK’s top environmental lawyers. Our lawyers work for us at highly discounted rates but we still need to to raise £30,000 to make sure they have enough time and resources to prepare a cast-iron case.
Right now we need to build up our legal fighting fund to be ready for the Public Inquiry and beyond.
Please will you donate to our campaign and help us stop LBA’s night flight expansion?
We understand that times are tight but please give what you can afford to help us defeat the airport's bosses yet again.
Thank you - we simply couldn’t do this without you.
FAQs
Q: How has GALBA fought off LBA’s expansion plans so far?
A: GALBA was formed in late 2019 with the simple aim of blocking LBA’s massive expansion programme, which would have seen passenger numbers increase from four million to seven million people per year and thousands more flights.
At the point that we formed GALBA, we had no idea how long, complicated and all-consuming our fight would be. Since then, with the help of committed supporters like you, our small committee has achieved the following:
- We succeeded in calling for a public inquiry into the original planning application – causing LBA to withdraw its application. We achieved this win by using every tactic available to us, including the very best legal advice, an enormous public petition and a letter-writing campaign.
- We exposed hundreds of unlawful night flights at LBA over the past three summers. We were only able to do this because our dedicated and expert team literally logged every single arrival and departure at the airport – an extremely time-consuming and laborious process. Our hard work paid off because we were able to prove that the airport was not telling Leeds City Council the truth about night flight numbers and the Council was not independently monitoring them.
- We persuaded Leeds City Council to turn down the airport’s attempts to rewrite the rules that limit the number of night flights. This was a huge blow to the airport and we believe it only came about because Leeds City Council was not able to argue with our relentless monitoring and the detailed legal arguments that we presented to them.
During this time we have kept our campaign at the top of the agenda. We’ve made politicians and the public take notice with a series of high profile demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, petitions, fundraisers and media appearances.
GALBA has worked hard and effectively to block LBA’s previous efforts to change the night flight rules. We provided Leeds City Council with accurate, consistent monitoring that shows why LBA’s own reported night flight numbers cannot be trusted. We have also produced a detailed outline of the legal case which proves that LBA cannot be allowed to fly more planes at night and pollute the environment. That’s why we need to be at the Public Inquiry - to defeat LBA again.
Q: What is the connection between night flights and LBA expansion?
A: Increasing night time flying has always been central to the airport's expansion plans. The reason is simple: unlimited night flying allows airlines to fly more of their planes round the clock, which means they can dramatically increase the number of flights at the airport. That’s what LBA’s appeal to the Planning Inspectors is all about.
Q: What is the connection between night flights and climate?
A: More night flights would mean more greenhouse gases from jet engines, polluting our fragile climate, when everyone knows we have to cut emissions as fast and as much as possible. The Climate Change Committee has repeatedly said that airports should not be allowed to expand because there are no large scale alternatives to the fossil fuels used to fly aircraft.
Q: Who will represent GALBA at the Public Inquiry?
A: The majority of GALBA’s work is done by a small group of volunteers who commit a vast amount of time and energy to blocking LBA’s expansion plans. But at every stage of our fight, we have relied heavily on the expert advice of the UK’s top environmental lawyers.
Our lawyers work for us at highly discounted rates but we still need to raise £30,000 to make sure our legal team has enough time and resources to prepare a cast-iron case.
At the inquiry we will be represented by Estelle Dehon KC, from Cornerstone Barristers, who has vast experience of planning law and the environment. This year, she won two very important cases – which prevented climate-wrecking oil and coal projects – and she won the Environment & Planning Barrister of the Year award for 2024.
Surrey oil project https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxwwzmn12g9o
Cumbria coal mine - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdrlrkz5k2ro
Q: Will Leeds City Council be at the Public Inquiry as well?
A: Yes and we hope they will put up a strong argument against LBA. However, we need to make sure they do. Despite GALBA giving Leeds City Council conclusive evidence that LBA has broken the night flight rules for three years running, the Council has not taken effective enforcement action to put a stop to LBA's unlawful behaviour.
What’s more, it was GALBA that provided the Council with the evidence and legal arguments that led them to reject LBA’s attempt to rewrite the night flight rules. We need to be at the Public Inquiry to make sure all of LBA’s arguments are demolished again.
Q: What is GALBA?
A: You can find out more about GALBA and our campaign to stop LBA’s unlawful night flights on our website: www.galba.uk. If you’re not already a GALBA member, please join us - it’s free and only takes a couple of minutes: www.galba.uk/take-action/join-us/
Q: What will you do with the funds if you raise more than you need or if the Inquiry is cancelled?
A: We will put it towards the costs of any future campaigns to stop LBA from expanding.
Nick Hodgkinson
March 11, 2026
Help us stop more night flights!
Leeds Bradford Airport is relentless in its determination to increase night time flying. That would damage the climate, harm human health and pollute the air.
So it won’t surprise you to know that LBA is trying a shocking new tactic...
After GALBA thwarted the airport's plans for 16,000 more flights a year, and having caught them breaking the night flight rules, now LBA are trying to use a legal loophole to increase their passenger numbers (and profits) by trying to reinterpret the night flight rules.
They are trying to use their own previous rule-breaking to overturn the rules that limit the number of night flights. Their audacity, and their demand for impunity, is jaw-dropping.
They say that because their newer planes have been breaking the rules for ten years, the rules no longer apply to those planes. In other words, they can fly as frequently as they like at night and no one can stop them.
It’s a bit like a burglar arguing: “I’ve been robbing these houses for ten years and the police never caught me — so now I should be free to rob them whenever I want, forever.”
GALBA urgently needs to raise £25,000 to stop LBA having the power to fly through the night with no limits.
Can you help? Can you share this appeal with other like minded people?
Thank you.
Nick Hodgkinson
Jan. 16, 2026
We urgently need to raise more funds - please help us!
Urgent update on LBA's plans for unlimited night flights.....
LBA has announced that it is imminently going to make a new planning application to change the rules that limit the number of night flights in and out of the airport.
This time, they want to completely scrap the cap on night flights.
We say KEEP THE CAP and resist LBA’s new planning application!
We urgently need to raise legal funds. If you are able to do so, please support the fundraiser by clicking the DONATE NOW button.
What’s going on?
We’ve found out that the airport wants to change the rules to allow a HUGE increase in the number of flights allowed at night. In mid-October 2025, LBA sent a briefing paper to all councillors on the City Plans Panel telling them that LBA was going to submit a new planning application in November. This hasn't happened yet but we believe it will occur very soon.
The City Plans Panel will make the decision on whether to approve LBA’s application but we don’t yet know when they will consider it.
We assumed this would happen and we are prepared to fight – and beat – LBA again.
We will need everyone to pull together, alerting family, friends and neighbours, writing to the press, joining public demonstrations, raising funds and putting as much pressure as possible on Leeds councillors. There are local elections in May so let’s put LBA high on the political agenda!
If LBA is successful, this would mean vastly more noise for people under the flight path and a massive rise in polluting greenhouse gases.
What can we do right now to stop expansion?
Most importantly - please help fund our legal case. GALBA is meeting with our lawyers to discuss how we can oppose the application by legal arguments. Our legal team is one of the best in the UK and they work for us at reduced rates. But we still need to build up our legal war-chest. So one of the most important things you can do is to support this Crowd Justice Legal Fundraiser which sends the donations direct to our legal team. If you are able to help, please click the DONATE NOW button.
You can keep yourself up to date with developments, via our website here.
If you live in Leeds, please write to your local councillors to tell them to keep the cap on night flights. Make sure your councillors know you are angry and that it will be an important issue for you in the local elections next May.
You could also write to your local MP to ask them to speak out against expansion.
If you’re not already a GALBA member, please join us. It’s free and only takes a couple of minutes to fill in the membership form.
Thank you friends - we could not do this without your support!
Nick Hodgkinson
March 4, 2025
Just five days to go - say no to unlimited night flights
The latest - and most crucial - stage of our fight kicks off on Tuesday 11th March with a Public Inquiry which will decide on the legal meaning of the night time flying rules at LBA.
The airport's bosses want people to think that relaxed night-time flying rules will just mean greater convenience for passengers. But we know it is the only way they can deliver on their master plan to expand from 4 million passengers a year to 7 million.
If we win, we will strike a crucial blow against LBA's expansion masterplan.
If we lose, LBA will be able to operate unlimited night flights - causing misery and harm to the health of local people AND blowing a massive hole in the UK's attempts to halt global heating.
Our legal representation is absolutely crucial at this inquiry. We've been fundraising all year, and have had fantastic support from the 38 Degrees community. But we're fighting aviation expansion on many fronts and we really need to boost our legal war-chest. If you think you can help, please do make a donation as every penny counts!
For the last three summers, GALBA has been tracking the airport's night flights and has caught the airport red-handed, breaking the rules by flying hundreds more planes than they are allowed to every summer. LBA is desperate to rewrite the night-flight rules so that they can fly whenever they want and that's why this Public Inquiry is so important.
GALBA, and our brilliant legal team, will be an important part of the Public Inquiry and we're looking forward to showing the Inspector the power that lies with concerned citizens when they stand up to big business.
If you want to support us - please come along and show you care.
If you can't get along in person, please do consider helping with our legal fighting fund.
Anyone can attend and watch the proceedings in the Council Chamber in Leeds Civic Hall. You don't need to book in advance, just come when you can. The first day (Tuesday 11 March) will start at 10am and finish at 5pm. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will start at 9.30am and end at 5pm. You can come for all or any part of the Inquiry. Each day will see statements by 'witnesses' and then cross examination of those witnesses by lawyers. We can't be absolutely sure but we expect Tuesday to be for LBA, Wednesday for the Council and Thursday for GALBA, with the legal arguments discussed on Friday.
Thank you everyone and very much hoping to see you at the Public Inquiry in Leeds next week. Your support - and that of thousands of others like you - is what gives us the courage and confidence to carry on. Here's that link again!
Nick Hodgkinson
Jan. 30, 2025
First Heathrow - next ALL UK airports! How GALBA is fighting back.
Thank you for all your support for GALBA's work. It's never been more important or timely.
Our team of unpaid volunteers are currently fighting on a number of fronts.
We are seeking to overturn 'Jet Zero' - the government’s reckless pro-expansion aviation policy - in a Judicial Review to be held in the High Court in April.
In the light of yesterday's news about Rachel Reeves' support for a third runway at Heathrow - this challenge is a crucial bulwark against such a calamitous development for the climate.
And we are also fighting a move to allow unlimited night flights - in the Chancellor's own city - at Leeds-Bradford Airport - in a Public Inquiry to be held in March.
As you can see from the picture, just yesterday - our team were protesting outside Rachel Reeves' office, in Leeds, making sure she understands that there can be no room for airport expansion in a climate emergency.
These two legal battles – to protect the health of local people and to prevent further catastrophic climate damage – are inextricably linked.
Airports across the UK are all in a race to expand but currently there is no mechanism to measure – and limit – the cumulative carbon impact of those expansions.
That’s why GALBA is fighting on both national and local fronts.
With the amazing backing of the Crowd Justice community, we already have funds towards both our Jet Zero and Night Flights challenges.
But we still need to raise more money to pay our top legal team.
Please will you help us to spread the word about our fight against unlimited night flights (and expansion via the back door) at Leeds Bradford Airport?
Can you share our funding appeal with your family and friends?
Or, if you have already contributed, could you make a further donation if you are able to do so?
GALBA is a small group of dedicated volunteers – trying to protect the health of people and the future of the planet – and we are waging a David and Goliath battle against the government and the powerful aviation industry. Please will you help us win?
Here is the link to our fundraiser. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-unlimited-night-flights-a/
If you are able to share with friends and family - please tell them a little bit about why you support us - it will make a real difference!
Thanks again - we simply couldn't do this without you.
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