More homes near the new Dublin Airport runway are in need of soundproofing because flights are not sticking to the flight paths agreed in the original modelling. 

The new North Runway opened to great fanfare in August after years of careful planning and building. 

Local residents living in the vicinity of the new flightpath were offered grants of up to €20,000 for soundproofing their homes but many said that the money does not compensate for the increase in noise pollution. 

One local resident even complained that the runway meant the skies above had become “basically like a war zone over your house”.

The new flight routes mean that even more people are affected and one woman, Georgina, says she is in “utter shock” at the way the runway is affecting her quality of life. 

“I am not against the North Runway at all,” she told Lunchtime Live. 

“I moved into this area 10 years ago and I looked at planning permissions for the airport and I looked at all the flight plans and paths that were approved. 

“I also went down to all of the DAA meetings that they had to make sure that when the north runway planning permission was going through that I was very aware of what the impact was going to be. 

“I was told explicitly by the spokespeople that ‘You’ve nothing to worry about.’”

A Ryanair flight takes off from Dublin Airport's new North Runway. Picture by: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

When construction was underway she thought little of it and was “convinced they would stick with their word”. 

However, once the first flights took off she realised they were soaring much closer to her house than she could ever have imagined. 

“One plane came over at 750ft,” she said. 

“[At] 750ft you have pains in your chest, tightness in your chest, you can’t hear the person that is right beside you - you have to stop talking because the vibrations and the sound of the aircraft going over means your voice doesn’t carry. 

“It is the most horrific experience that I’ve ever had to endure.” 

The first time she heard it, she thought there was an emergency at Dublin Airport but now she says planes are swooping so low they are “shaking the house”. 

“You can hear the vibrations through the kitchen as the planes are going over,” she said. 

She is against the idea of soundproofing her home. 

“I don’t want it,” she said firmly. 

“I do not want soundproofing; I want to be able to live my life like I planned and I want the airport to follow what has been given in their planning permission."

Passengers wait to board a 'redeye' early morning flight at Dublin Airport in May 2010. Picture by: Peter Titmuss / Alamy Stock Photo

In a statement to Newstalk, Dublin Airport Authority said: 

“On commencement of North Runway operations an issue regarding departure flight paths was identified, which resulted in some local communities being unexpectedly overflown, for which daa sincerely apologises.  It is important to note that this issue did not have any impact on the safety of aircraft. 

 “We immediately started a review, with the aim to satisfactorily resolve the issue as soon as possible.  The review process involved engagement and coordination with a number of the relevant stakeholders. The review identified that some of the Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs*) were not aligned to modelling assumptions included in daa’s planning submissions. 

“The outcome of the review, in consultation with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), proposes updates to the affected IFP, specifically the current Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs**) which will result in flight paths aligning more closely with the information previously communicated by daa.  The revised SIDs require regulatory review and approval before they can be implemented. Additionally, the approved SIDs must be published in line with an international publication cycle, which takes a number of weeks to complete. In the meantime, the continued use of the current SIDs is required.   

 “It is anticipated that the regulatory process will be concluded to allow the revised SIDs to become operational in Q1 2023, and we will notify local community groups in this regard. 

“It is expected that the overall number of houses in the various noise contours will be similar to that previously communicated. However, a small number of dwellings which were previously on the verge of eligibility for mitigation measures, will likely become eligible as a result of the proposed update. We intend to provide these dwellings with the required mitigations as soon as possible. 

 “daa fully appreciates the impact the ongoing situation is having on our local communities and for which we again sincerely apologise.”

Main image: An airbus A320 landing at Dublin airport.