Five families who live in the vicinity of a military airbase in Krzesiny, western Poland, are to receive compensation after claiming damages caused by the noise emitted from F-16 fighter jets.

Each family will be granted 100,000 zloty (25,000 euro) damages which are supposed to equal the expense of constructing sound-proof walls and the decline in the value of their properties.

More trials are underway, including one which may bring up to one million zloty (250,000 euro) compensation to plaintiffs whose house is located next to the runway. A building expert recommended the demolition of the house as protecting the building against noise would be too expensive.

For a long time the Polish Army, owner of the airbase, has tried to avoid paying out compensation. The army’s lawyers claimed that the level of noise in a city centre is also very high but it does not affect the prices of properties. The lawyers also argued that residents of the area situated next to the airbase are exaggerating and the F-16s are not as noisy as they say.

“It takes a long time until a final ruling is issued on such cases because they usually go through courts of all instances, including the Supreme Court,” says Katarzyna Szafranska, a lawyer who represented the families who recently won their compensation case. (mg/jb)

Source: Polska The Times