Luxembourg City council backed the national noise pollution plan, as councillors from all parties highlighted outdated data, weak night flight sanctions, and urgent health risks for residents near traffic and airport routes.

At national level, work is underway on plans to combat noise pollution. Drafts of the different action plans are currently on the table.

Noise from road traffic, trains, and aircraft, which often still land after 11pm, is at the heart of the issue. Luxembourg City has reviewed the projects in recent weeks, as the municipality must submit its opinion by 1 October. The position proposed by the Democratic Party (DP) and Christian Social People's Party (CSV) mayoral council was unanimously approved by the City council on Monday.

The opinion was also supported by the opposition. Councillor Maxime Miltgen of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) welcomed the fact that the report lists a number of critical points. She pointed in particular to the lack of proper involvement of Luxembourg City in the working groups, the outdated data being used despite strong population growth, and the fact that the night flight ban is frequently violated because sanctions do not appear to have any effect.

David Wagner of The Left (déi Lénk) noted that the issue of night flights has been debated for years without any improvement. His party submitted a motion to strictly limit night flights at Findel Airport, but it was rejected. Around 84,000 residents are affected by aircraft noise, including those living directly under the flight path.

Councillor Linda Gaasch of The Greens (déi gréng) stressed, after examining the action plan in detail, that such noise can cause serious health problems. She highlighted figures showing that more than 50,000 people in the urban area could be considered "highly annoyed" when road and airport noise are combined, over 25,000 say to be "highly sleep disturbed", and even a measurable risk of heart disease has been identified, with 56 cases linked to road noise alone.

No one in the council disputed that action against noise pollution is needed, which is precisely the aim of the national action plans. Gaasch, however, emphasised that the City itself also needs to do more to support neighbourhoods most heavily impacted by noise.

At Monday's session, Mayor Lydie Polfer also swore in a new councillor from The Greens: Liudumila Branca, who replaces Claudie Reyland following her resignation before the summer.