C-130 aircraft and two helicopters were due to take to the skies over Victoria Harbour yesterday during the filming of Batman: The Dark Knight.

But, so far, there has been no sign of the caped hero.

A spokesman from the Civil Aviation Department confirmed that the aircraft had not lifted off yesterday.

Filmmakers gained permission to fly the plane from yesterday to Friday, between 3pm and 7pm, and for the helicopters from yesterday to Monday, between 7am and 11pm.

Hong Kong-based production company October Pictures, which will lead the filming, only needs to contact the control tower one hour before they fly.

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So far, no complaints about plans to fly the aircraft have been received by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority or the CAD.

There is still concern about the noise that will be created by the aircraft.

Central and Western district councilor Stephen Chan Chit-kwai has urged moviemakers to start filming later in the day to avoid noise nuisance.

"My concern is that they are starting early. They should postpone the starting time as late as possible and use only one helicopter. And it should finish at 10pm as this is the time people rest.

"Most people are still sleeping at 7.30am because offices and schools normally start at 9am. The noise is very annoying."

He added: "It's a good thing to have such a film produced in Hong Kong but we want to reduce the disturbance so we can welcome more filmmaking in the future."

Patricia Wong of the CAD's film services office reassured the public that any noise created would be minimal and comparable to the sound from trucks and containers on the road.

She said the flights would last only three minutes at a time and would take place a few times in the day and a few times at night. She refused to say whether any aircraft were flown yesterday.