British government to appeal court ruling limiting overnight flights

The British government is to appeal a court ruling that night flights at London's Heathrow Airport violate the human rights of nearby residents by depriving them of sleep, officials said.

The European Court of Human Rights' judgment on Oct. 2 was in response to an appeal by residents who campaigned to halt overnight flights.

Aviation Minister David Jamieson said the government had written to the court, asking for the judgment to be reconsidered.

"The judgment raises serious questions about the interpretation and application of the European Convention of Human Rights," the minister said in a statement.

The court based in Strasbourg, France said the British government should curtail flights between 11:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. at Heathrow, west of London. Some flights have continued.

The court said that although the government does not run the airport, it is responsible for balancing economic concerns with citizen rights.

Jamieson previously said that a "fair balance" needs to be struck between the economic benefits of night flights and the harm they cause to residents.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport, against which the case was brought, said with customary anonymity: "Heathrow has the strictest night noise regime of any major European airport and the decision to appeal does not mean any softening of the government's tough approach to night noise."

The government fears the ruling could mean more lost business for airlines already hit hard by fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.