Surprise for travelers from Nantes-Atlantique airport this Sunday. At the beginning of the afternoon, in a good-natured atmosphere, a few hundred people of all ages burst into the terminal and lay down on the tiles, to the sound of a nursery rhyme. Dressed in fleece pajamas, flannel bathrobes, or slippers, some also came equipped with pillows and large stuffed animals. A man, wearing a nightcap, even wears an alarm clock around his neck. “We are organizing this group nap to denounce the impact of aviation on our lives, explains Gwendoline Monnier, spokesperson for the collective for the reduction of air traffic and member of Alternatiba. And in particular the noise pollution, due to a curfew which is not respected. »
Despite the introduction of a limitation of flights between midnight and 6 a.m. since April, these demonstrators still say they hear planes landing and taking off in the middle of the night. Figures confirmed by the authorities since 203 regulatory breaches were observed in the first six months, the DGAC recently reported. “The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eight hours of sleep per night, so we are asking for an extension of the curfew, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. “, continues Gwendoline Monnier, dressed in satin pajamas, a Marsupilami stuffed animal in the arms.
“Worried about the situation of the planet”
These “sleepers” (who also sang several songs and got into a pillow fight when some appeared disguised as planes) are more generally calling for the sector to stop growing, the abolition of short flights, the regulation of flights for business, or the abandonment of the Nantes-Atlantique airport redevelopment project. “Airplanes create pollution, car traffic, all that so that some go to the other side of the world to go shopping for a few days, estimates Manue, who lives in Rezé. We are attacked in our sleep and very worried about the situation of the planet, at the time of the opening of the Cop 27.
Several tens of thousands of inhabitants are exposed to aircraft noise in the Nantes conurbation. Located in Bouguenais, Nantes-Atlantique airport combines the shortcomings of being close (8 km from Place du Commerce) and having its runway oriented in the axis of the city center. Projections expect more than 8 million passengers in 2025.