East Midlands airport has been fined nearly £900,000 for environmental pollution.
The Environment Agency successfully prosecuted the Leicestershire transport hub for allowing discharges of drainage water containing aircraft and runway de-icing fluid.
The airport was fined £892,500 for three offences of breaching environmental permits at Derby Crown Court on Monday 28 July.
They were also ordered to pay costs of £65,687.54.
The airport’s permit is dependent on them meeting quality limits when it comes to the discharge of surface water drainage.
Failure to do so risks having “a chronic impact on the watercourse and result in a deterioration in water quality”, said a government statement.
An investigation by the Environment Agency found that the company significantly breached this limit on three separate occasions, which occurred between 14 January and 4 February 2022.
The court was told that the airport has “a poor history of permit compliance”, with 13 separate permit breaches prior to this recent case, resulting in 10 written warnings.
In defence, the airport, which changed management in 2022, said it had actively engaged with the Environment Agency to improve the situation.
Ian Firkins, senior environment officer for the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area, said: “We welcome this sentence which should act as a deterrent to other companies who flout environmental legislation.
“As a regulator, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to pursue companies that fail to meet its obligations to the environment.”
In a statement, East Midlands airport, which is owned by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which also owns London Stansted, apologised and outlined £11m of improvements it has completed after pleading guilty to the charges.
“I’m sorry that in 2022 there were issues with the operation of our water drainage system which led to breaches of our permit on three occasions,” said East Midlands Airport managing director, Steve Griffiths.
“Since this period we have been working with the Environment Agency and external industry experts to carry out remedial action.
“I’m satisfied that the issues that led to this prosecution have been fully addressed by these measures. We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and will continue to look at ways to minimise our environmental impact.”
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