Noise

If you live or work near an airport, there will almost certainly be times when you hear aircraft.

Here at London Stansted Airport, we are committed to being a good neighbour and we continually work with airlines, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), local Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Government agencies to minimise the noise impact on the local community as much as possible.

The noise section of our website is designed to help give a better understanding of the various aspects of aircraft noise by giving clear and factual information.

Click here to find out more about London Stansted Airports’ operations.

Aircraft Noise Explained

This section of the website provides valuable information about the sources and causes of noise.

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Monitoring Aircraft Noise

Aircraft noise is recorded at take off by our fixed noise monitors which are located underneath the departure flight paths.

In addition, we also have mobile noise monitoring equipment which is used to measure the noise levels in the communities close to the airport and assess how the impact may have changed over time.

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Investigating Aircraft Noise

Self-investigate a noise disturbance or contact the Flight Evaluation Unit (FEU).

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Who Does What?

There are numerous bodies, organisations and companies that play a part in working with the airport to mitigate and reduce the impacts of aircraft related noise.

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Noise Action Plan

A Noise Action Plan is a five-year plan to assess, consider and manage aircraft noise at the airport. It is a key part of delivering broader UK Government noise objectives that are to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise. Noise Action Plans are a legal requirement under European Union Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise. This Directive is commonly referred to as the Environmental Noise Directive or END. The requirements of the END are transposed by the UK Government in the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 as amended (“the Regulations”).

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Aircraft Noise News

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Local Flight Restrictions

At London Stansted, there are a few local operating procedures that aircraft are requested to follow.

Pilots should avoid flying over the centre of Bishop's Stortford, unless for safety reasons. They should also avoid flying over Sawbridgeworth and Stansted Mountfitchet at heights below 2,500ft above sea level. Aircraft must also avoid flying over St Elizabeth’s Centre, Much Hadham at a height lower than 4,000ft above sea level.

Our Noise Performance

Click here for recent performance reports.

Sound Insulation Grant Scheme (SIGS)

London Stansted provides mitigation measures for aircraft noise impacts in the local community by the provision of acoustic insulation for properties. This includes:

• Offering households subject to high levels of noise (69dBA Leq or more) assistance with the costs of relocating; and

• Offering acoustic insulation (applied to residential properties) to other noise-sensitive buildings that remain in education, healthcare, worship or community use that are exposed to medium to high levels of noise (57dBA Leq or more).

London Stansted has provided in excess of £1.4 million of noise insulation since the scheme began in 2004. With the recent expansion of the scheme an additional 800 properties may be eligible for a sound insulation grant.

For further information on the scheme and to check if your property is eligible, please see our brochure or email community@stanstedairport.com.

To apply for our SIGS please click here.

The scheme has now closed for the financial year from 1st November 2024 and will re-open for applications from 1st April 2025.

To join our waitlist for our SIGS please contact us on community@stanstedairport.com and we will come back to you when the scheme re-opens

Frequently Asked Questions

View our FAQ's here.

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