UK Government to review noise objectives for night flight policy

The UK Government continues to review its night flight policy for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, with a new and sustained focus on its noise objectives. The consultation aims to better the detrimental impact that night flying has on local residents, without disregarding the positive contributions aviation has on the economy. 

Aircrafts are becoming quieter as technology advances, and this trend is expected to continue, however, the Government does recognise noise issues they pose. Noise from aircraft taking off and landing at night is often regarded by communities as the most disturbing form of airport operations.

“There’s no doubt night flights have an effect on local residents underneath busy flightpaths, but as aircraft become quieter, we have an opportunity to strike a balance to make sure we can support the aviation industry without having a debilitating impact on people’s lives,” said Aviation Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton. “This consultation will help us to shape policy and create a flightpath towards a more sustainable approach to night-time aviation noise.”

Night flights are an important part of operations at airports around the world and provide significant economic benefit to the UK, helping keep the flow of people, goods and services in and out of the country and supporting thousands of jobs as a result.  

The six-week consultation on night-time noise abatement objectives will allow the Government to seek views and evidence from the industry and communities.

The objectives informed by the consultation will set the groundwork for future measures on how to manage aviation noise at night at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports from October 2025. 

Also published today is the Government’s revised overarching aviation noise policy statement, reaffirming the foundation for noise policy for the entirety of the aviation sector, no matter the time of the flight whether it’s day or night. Through this statement we aim to balance the health and wellbeing of communities with the clear economic and consumer benefits of aviation.  

In addition, the guidance used to allow dispensation for operators to fly night flights will be looked at in the wake of last summer’s disruption across the sector. The summer of 2022 was particularly challenging from an international air traffic control perspective and resulted in an increase in late-running flights, and a corresponding higher number of night flight dispensations. Such a rise was in stark contrast to the summers of 2020 and 2021 when the numbers of dispensations were very low.