Night Flights

As the world becomes more connected, there is a growing demand for air transport, which includes passenger and cargo connectivity around the world, into and out of different time zones. Not only does this make it easier for people to travel for holidays and to see friends and family, but it also helps businesses and the local economy by providing transportation links for time critical goods and services.

East Midlands Airport is a nationally important cargo hub, and is the UK’s largest express air cargo airport. It is a significant base for three of the major global integrated freight operators, DHL, UPS, and FedEx, handling over 400,000 tonnes of cargo every year. Due to a combination of demand for goods from markets with different time zones (such as Asia), ‘next day delivery’ and other logistical practices night flights are essential for global trade.

We recognise that night-time noise from aircraft operations is often the most intrusive. At East Midlands Airport, the night period is defined as 23:00-07:00. Our night noise controls are intended to strike a balance between the economic and social benefits a thriving airport provides and the disturbance which can be caused by night flights.

Whilst night flights aren’t typically any louder than daytime operations, the background or ambient noise level can be lower, meaning an aircraft is more easily heard.

East Midlands Airport has procedures in place to minimise the disruption caused by night flights. These procedures have evolved through consultation with local communities as part of the Noise Action Plan process.

• To encourage airlines to fly as quietly as possible at night, we operate a noisy aircraft penalty. Using our noise monitoring system, we measure the level of noise generated by each departing aircraft. Noise is measured by monitors positioned at fixed points beneath the departure flight paths. Money raised from noisy aircraft penalties is donated to the East Midlands Airport Community Fund. We report all instances of breaches to the Airport Consultative Committee.
• East Midlands Airport prohibits airlines from scheduling and operating the noisiest aircraft types at night 23:00 – 07:00. These are classified as having a Quota Count (QC) of 4, 8 or 16. Any late running aircraft of these types are prohibited from operating during the night period, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as live stock or perishable cargo. Should these operations occur under exceptional circumstances, the operator would also pay a surcharge to the Airport Community Fund.
• We operate within an agreed planning condition set by North West Leicestershire District Council, so that our ‘night noise envelope’ (based on the 55dB L_Aeq 8-hour night contour) will not exceed an area of 16km². The airport is operating well within this limit.

You can find more information within the ‘How we manage noise’ section.