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”).

The Noise Action planning process operates in five-yearly cycles. The aim is for each subsequent Noise Action Plan to build on existing progress to manage the effects of aircraft noise on people. This is the third Noise Action Plan for London Stansted Airport and it is based on noise maps prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) showing the situation at the airport in 2016. The Noise Action Plan includes existing and proposed measures to manage aircraft noise and shows how we intend to measure and report progress against our targets. Following a consultation of this new plan with local stakeholders during 2018, it was submitted and adopted by DEFRA in 2019.

We have a range of stakeholders who have an interest in the airport and their views and comments are an important part of our planning process and would like to thank all those who responded to our consultation. The Noise Action Plan is an important document for London Stansted Airport. We are committed to being open in sharing our plan and ensuring that it reflects the views of the airport’s users and neighbours.

The Noise Action Plan, Executive Summary and the Supplementary Information are available to download here.