Night noise

Day noise and night noise
Many people are not bothered at all by the noise from planes during the day, because they are at work or see it as part of everyday life. But they can be very bothered by it at night.

Stansted Airport is allowed to operate a limited service at night. There are Government restrictions on the level of night time noise that is allowed and the number of planes that can fly at night.

On average, Stansted has about 30 planes at night.

The rules for night time
Until 1962, the Government had no policy on night noise, and airlines were free to fly at any time into and out of the airport.

Since 1962, though, in response to increasing community concern about noise, the Government has tightened the rules. But there is not – and never has been – a ban on night flights. The Government allows them because it sees them as being important for the well-being of the airline and travel industries, and for the UK economy as a whole.

The Government's night time rules apply from 11.30pm until 6am. There is also a ‘shoulder period’ at either end of the night, with slightly less strict rules – that is 11pm-11.30pm and 6am-7am.

From 11.30pm-6am, the rules allow for a limited number of flights and a limited amount of noise over the whole summer or winter season.

The number of flights is based on a points, or ‘quota’ system relating to each plane’s noise levels.

On top of the quota system, there is also an absolute limit on the number of flights permitted at the airport.

Under the quota system, the airport has a total number of ‘quota points’, which are then used up by night time flights. Different types of planes use up different numbers of points, depending on how noisy they are.

The noisiest aircraft use 16 points of the quota, and they’re called QC16s (QC stands for ‘Quota Count’). The next noisiest have eight points – QC8s. As planes get quieter, their points get smaller and smaller, until the quietest planes have just half a point or are exempt altogether. During the night quota period the noisiest types
of planes are not permitted to be scheduled.

We recognise that the rules set by the Government on noise are subject to ongoing appraisal, which can often involve a period of Government consultation. We are committed to keeping you informed of our response to such consultations, such as night noise and mixed mode, which we will update on this website.

So because there is a limit on the airport’s total quota of points for night-time flying, this system encourages airlines who want to fly at night to use the quietest aircraft.