Trudeau airport night flight detour satisfies few

A committee of Montreal citizens opposed to noisy night flights into and out of the Trudeau airport say only a full ban will resolve noise issues aggravating residents living in the vicinity.

The Montreal Airport Authority (known by its French acronym ADM) announced Thursday it would stop directing pilots to use the contentious flight paths after residents complained about noise levels.

The ADM said it asked Transport Canada to approve modifications to night flight paths that direct planes along Autoroute 13, a route residents said generates deafening noise.

The path was originally created to limit noise in neighbourhoods, but planes were not reaching the required 2,500-metre altitude fast enough, which did create a racket, said ADM vice-president Norman Boivin.

Reverting to previous flight paths over Dorval and St-Laurent should resolve the problem, he said.

A citizens committee of residents who live along the flight corridor say the ADMs move wont eliminate plane noise.

"The people from Ville St-Laurent will be worst hit, and Ville-Mont-Royal," said Luc Marion, a committee member who lives in Ville St-Laurent.

The committee advocates a full ban on night flights out of the Trudeau airport, and suggests authorities transfer them to Mirabel airport.

"We are fortunate to have a second airport that is fully operational," he said. "Send them back."

It will be impossible to completely eliminate night flights from Trudeau, which is a major international hub and key to Montreals economy, and "everyone is going to have to compromise," said Alan DeSousa, a Montreal city council executive committee member and St-Laurent borough mayor.