GENEVA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A decision by civil aviation authorities this week to limit nighttime flights for planes at Switzerland's main airport in Zurich could curb its competitiveness with other European hubs, an airport spokesperson and business leaders have said.

"The Federal Office of Civil Aviation has for the first time enacted measures to combat air traffic exceedance of night-time noise levels," the FOCA said in a statement on July 25.

The office said it had ordered a freeze on landings after 9 p.m. and on take-offs after 10:20 p.m. to reduce the noise for residents living near the airport.

An official report in September found that the noise was sometimes considerably above permitted levels between 10 p.m. and midnight.

Residents around Zurich airport had for years complained about noise emissions and increasing flight traffic.

The controversy over airport noise has also spilled over into neighboring Germany.

Switzerland and Germany have for decades sought to reach an agreement over noise emissions, the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS reported, as Zurich airport is just 20 kilometers south of the German border.

But, the decision is regrettable, airport spokesperson Sonja Zoechling, told the German-language daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger,"The restrictions will put us at a disadvantage in the future with other airports in Europe," she said.

The Zurich Chamber of Commerce criticized the FOCA decision saying it makes it impossible to include much-demanded intercontinental night flights, for example to South America.

"In the long term, Switzerland's international accessibility will be jeopardized," said the chamber.

The Zurich cantonal minister in charge of airports and economics, Carmen Walker Spaeh, however, welcomed the order.

"For three years I have consistently campaigned for a seven-hour shutdown," she said.

There may, however, be a loophole for the airport, commented Anzeiger-Zeitung, as the decision is subject to appeal.

The FOCA said that in order to allow Zurich Airport to develop in accordance with an aviation policy report and aeronautical infrastructure plan, it plans to redefine nighttime noise exposure limits.

For that, the FOCA will require the airport to provide it with new air traffic noise calculations.