Birmingham Airport night flights plan set to be approved despite opposition from residents

Birmingham Airport say a move to relax rules over night flying would have a "substantial" benefit to the local economy, driven by changes to the aviation industry which have seen low-cost airline carriers prefer to begin operating earlier in the day and finish later.

Airport bosses say night flying restrictions need to evolve to reflect "changing patterns" in the industry, and want to increase the total percentage of night flights from 5% to 7.3% over the next year.

"Technological aircraft improvements mean that aircraft are larger, but also cleaner and quieter and the schedules flown by airlines have changed," they said via a statement. 

"Today, the airport is seeing 40% more passengers than 2007, with airlines using 25% less ATMs to carry them. However, to provide passengers the destinations and schedules they want, the airlines need to operate each aircraft as much as possible, meaning earlier starts and/or later finishes each day, often in the 0500-0600 and 2330-0100 periods."