NEW rules covering night flights from airports have been labelled a missed opportunity by a campaign group.

Stop Stansted Expansion (Sse) says the Night Flight Restrictions at Stansted Airport, set to be introduced in October, don't go far enough to tackle the serious impacts of night flights on sleep disturbance and adverse health impacts.

the campaigner group believes communities affected by the flight paths should have been provided with more protection but instead said more weight has been given to industry demands rather than resident concerns.

Martin Peachy, noise adviser for Stop Stansted Expansion, said: "Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said that he is ‘fully aware that noise is a major concern for those living near Stansted Airport and that night noise is widely regarded as the most disturbing impact of aviation’, but the new rules won’t actually lessen the impacts that people will experience, or improve the quality of their sleep between 11.30pm and 6am.”

A Stansted Airport spokesperson said: “London Stansted plays a critical role in supporting economic growth and jobs both in the East of England and across the UK and we welcome the reassurance that today’s statement provides for local communities around our airport.

“Over several years, Stansted has worked with our airline partners to significantly reduce the effects of noise through with the introduction of the latest generation of greener, quieter, more efficient aircraft. The aviation sector continues to invest billions of pounds in R&D to ensure that advancements in aviation technology minimise aircraft noise even further.”

“Night flights remain vital in the movement of time sensitive cargo including pharmaceuticals and perishable goods, while passenger airline schedules rely on early morning and late evening flights in order to keep airfares as low as possible.”