The East Belfast MP said that the Planning Service was giving too much weight to the airport's views and those of its rival, Belfast International Airport.

Mr Robinson said there was no question that the airport was an asset to the area but that had to be balanced against its impact on local people.
Last month about 30 tiles came off the roof of an East Belfast house after residents heard a "big bang" from a low-flying aircraft approaching the airport.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is strongly pushing for the runway extension, which Planning Service is considering, but the airport's main airline, Flybe, is opposed to the expansion.

Speaking to the News Letter, Mr Robinson said: "I don't think there's any question that the airport is an asset but I think that there needs to be very considerable care taken, particularly on the grounds of safety, when you have an airport which is so much an integral part of a built-up community.

"I think we do have to recognise that people in the surrounding area, whether it is North Down or East Belfast, have rights and we have to protect the peaceful enjoyment that those people can have in their own homes.

"That is always the balance that a minister has to consider when these planning applications come before them."

Speaking of the planning application which is currently being examined by the Department of the Environment, the DUP leader said: "I just think that when they (Planning Service] are considering these matters they should pay more attention to what local people have to say than what Aldergrove has to say or what City Airport has to say."

Mr Robinson added: "Planning issues should be resolved on the basis of what the planning merits are."

Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey, also an East Belfast MLA, has strongly opposed the airport's expansion plans and South Belfast SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell has also raised concerns about the plan.
However, the airport contends that its plan will have significant economic benefits for Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller told the News Letter that there was no need for a longer runway at the airport and that Belfast International Airport, which already has a longer runway and is not surrounded by housing, should be used as Northern Ireland's air hub.

"It is economically not very sensible nor meaningful to invest in two half airports rather than one real one," he said. Belfast City Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose has dismissed the airline chief's comments as "ill-informed".

As well as wanting a longer runway, Mr Ambrose has also written to Environment Minister Edwin Poots asking for the removal of the current cap on flights.