Aircraft noise can affect quality of life, especially for people living near busy airports or under flight paths. Reducing and managing noise is an important part of how aviation balances its benefits with its impacts on communities.
Aircraft produce noise during take-off, climb, approach and landing, and when flying overhead. The level and character of that noise depends on the aircraft type, its altitude, and how it is being flown. Noise is generally most noticeable close to busy airports, where flight numbers and operational hours are highest.
The government’s policy on aircraft noise aims to “limit, and where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise.” Measures to achieve this include:
- Ensuring noise impacts are considered in decisions on airspace design, airport development and operational changes.
- Working with industry to develop and operate quieter aircraft.
- Supporting airports in enforcing noise-related policies and, in some cases, limiting hours of operation or flight numbers.
The CAA supports these aims through a range of roles:
- Airspace change decisions – assessing proposals to alter flight paths or procedures, and deciding whether they can proceed, in line with government policy.
- Monitoring and reporting – gathering and publishing information on noise around UK airports, using consistent methods to allow comparison and tracking over time. The CAA’s UK Aviation Environmental Review includes information and data on aviation noise.
- Research and advice – working with experts to understand the effects of noise, identify ways to reduce it, and providing impartial technical advice to government.
- Noise certification – ensuring aircraft meet international noise standards before they can operate in the UK.
Some factors influencing aircraft noise are outside our control, such as weather conditions, traffic volumes, or the mix of destinations served. We also do not:
- Set the levels at which noise is deemed harmful or annoying—that is determined by government policy.
- Decide on airport planning matters such as whether new runways or terminals should be built.
Through consistent monitoring, transparent reporting, and evidence-based decision-making, we aim to ensure that information on aircraft noise is reliable, comparable, and meaningful to the public.
Who is responsible for aviation noise in the UK, and internationally?
In the UK, responsibility for managing aircraft noise is shared between government, the CAA, airports, and international bodies.
- Government policy – The Department for Transport (DfT) sets the policy framework for controlling aircraft noise. It retains direct responsibility for regulating noise at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. At other UK airports, noise issues are managed locally by the airport operator and the relevant local authority, working with local communities.
- Local decisions – Planning authorities decide whether airports can operate at night, how many flights they can handle, and any local noise limits, as part of their approval for airport development or expansion.
- CAA responsibilities – We decide where aircraft are allowed to fly when approving changes to airspace design. In doing so, we must consider noise impacts alongside safety and airspace efficiency. We also issue noise certificates for aircraft operating in the UK, ensuring they meet international standards.
- International standards – The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a United Nations body, sets the global rules on aircraft noise limits and certification tests. As a member state, the UK applies these standards through the CAA. Rules introduced through the European Union before EU exit, such as banning certain noisier aircraft types, are now part of UK law.
Noise Metrics
This guidance explains the main noise metrics used in the UK to measure and assess aviation noise and its impacts. It defines common technical terms and indices, and shows how noise exposure is represented visually.
Noise Action Plans
The CAA, on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT), reviewed how effective Airport Noise Action Plans are as a noise management tool. The review looked at:
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How airport operators prepare their plans.
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The clarity of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) guidance.
- How well adopted plans deliver noise management in practice.
Airspace Modernisation Strategy
The Airspace Modernisation Strategy 2023–2040 sets out a vision for quicker, quieter, cleaner journeys and more capacity for those who use and are affected by the use of UK airspace. Environmental sustainability is a core principle throughout, aligning with the Government’s Air Navigation Guidance and ensuring the interests of all stakeholders are considered.
More information can be found in CAP 1616 Airspace Modernisation Strategy and on the following pages:
Airspace Change Process
The CAA’s Airspace Regulation team manages the process for changing airspace design and some air traffic control procedures. We determine whether proposals can proceed, based on international standards, relevant legislation, and government policy on noise and other environmental objectives.
More information can be found in CAP 1616 Airspace Modernisation Strategy and on the following airspace change pages.
Noise Research and Consultancy
The CAA’s Environmental Research and Consultancy Department (ERCD) provides independent, expert advice on the environmental effects of aviation, with a particular focus on aircraft noise. We work to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and scientific rigour, ensuring our analysis is robust, transparent, and trusted.
Our main activities include:
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Advising the Department for Transport and other government departments on environmental matters, under formal agreements.
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Providing technical advice and analysis on topics such as aircraft noise exposure contours to airport operators, airspace change sponsors, local authorities, community groups, and other stakeholders.
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Supporting CAA projects and activities that require specialist environmental expertise.
Our expertise:
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Monitoring and modelling aircraft noise exposure around UK airports, including producing official noise contours using the Government’s Aircraft Noise Contour (ANCON) model, which we develop, maintain and operate on their behalf.
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Researching the effects of aviation noise on and identifying ways to reduce them.
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Developing and applying environmental models and analytical tools.
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Assessing the environmental impact of aircraft operations and proposed changes to the design and use of airspace.
How we work:
We follow UK Government guidance on the use of scientific and engineering advice in policy-making, meet ISO 9001 operational standards, and publish our results wherever practicable. Our services are open to all stakeholders.
Find out more about the ANCON noise modelling process.
Specialist Noise Advice
The CAA’s Chief Technical Noise Advisor (CTNA) provides specialist expertise on complex aircraft noise issues. Working across the organisation, the CTNA:
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Undertakes specialist research and analytical tasks
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Advises the Secretary of State on technical noise matters including the call-in criteria for airspace change decisions
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Advises other CAA teams on technical matters (except on producing noise contours for airspace change sponsors)
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Advises our Airspace Regulation team on environmental matters
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Provides CAA’s response (on noise impact) as statutory consultee to some planning applications
This role ensures that the CAA’s decisions on noise are informed by the highest level of technical knowledge, and that our assessments are consistent, evidence-based, and aligned with government policy.
Before an aircraft can operate in the UK, it must meet strict safety and environmental standards. One of these is noise certification, a process that confirms the aircraft complies with internationally agreed limits on how much noise it can make.
Noise certification is part of the broader Certificate of Airworthiness process, which also checks that the aircraft’s design is approved, it has been built correctly, and it is in a condition for safe operation.
The CAA issues noise certificates based on tests carried out to standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). These tests measure noise during take-off, overflight, and landing, and compare the results with limits designed to protect people and communities on the ground.
Whether you are building a new aircraft, modifying an existing one, or bringing an aircraft into the UK from abroad, the CAA provides clear guidance on how to apply for noise certification and airworthiness approval—helping to ensure aircraft in UK skies are not only safe but also quieter.
Noise Publications
Over the years, we have produced a wide range of technical and research reports on aviation noise. These cover topics such as:
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How aircraft noise is measured and modelled.
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The development and use of the UK’s Aircraft Noise Contour (ANCON) model.
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Research into the effects of noise on people and the environment.
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Studies on potential ways to reduce noise impacts.
These reports are used by government, industry, local authorities, and community groups to support evidence-based decision-making. Many of them are accessible to the public, providing insight into both the science behind noise modelling and the practical measures being explored to manage it.
How do I make a complaint about aircraft noise?
If you have a complaint about aircraft noise, you should first direct to it the airport where you think the aircraft was operating from. They have a duty to investigate your complaint and respond to you. They will be best placed to provide information on their operations and may be able to take action if the aircraft is flying in breach of their noise abatement procedures. Unusually loud noise can often be a result of a flight not operating as planned; the airport may be able to tell you if that was the case, and why.
Decisions around when an airport is allowed to be open for flights, whether aircraft can operate at night, and how many aircraft are allowed to fly on any given day are often set out as part of the planning process approving the airport's construction or expansion. In most cases, this process is run by the local authority where the airport is located. They may be able to provide more information about the conditions imposed on it.
For Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports, decisions such as these are overseen by the Department for Transport.
Military aircraft are covered by different rules to civil ones. If you wish to complain about military aircraft noise you need to contact the Ministry of Defence (MOD) .
Aircraft noise is not currently a statutory nuisance in the UK. It is not covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the Noise Act 1996. This means that local authorities do not have the legal power to take action on matters of aircraft noise, and nor does the CAA have the legal power to prevent aircraft flying over a particular location or at a particular time for environmental reasons.
We are tasked by government to provide a focal point for aviation-related environmental enquiries and complaints. You can lodge a complaint about aviation noise to us via an electronic form. The details you provide will be logged in our complaints and enquiries database and, where appropriate, will be referred to the relevant airport, air traffic control provider or to the Secretary of State. More information is available on how to complain about aircraft noise.
Airport Community Engagement guidance
Relationships between airports and communities should be based on trust, through effective processes encompassing a wide range of stakeholders with clear and transparent information provision on a range of issues.
These guidelines identify examples of best practice in engagement and complaint resolution around environmental impacts.
These guidelines primarily relate to engagement and complaints handling around aircraft noise, but other environmental impacts, such as the effects of aviation on air quality and climate through emissions, have also been considered, recognising that awareness of environmental sustainability more broadly is becoming increasingly widespread.
Every major commercial airport in the UK is required by law to have facilities for consultation. In practice, this generally means the creation of an Airport Consultative Committee. The role of the Consultative Committee is to help provide a forum for discussing airport-related issues with all those who may be affected. Typically, the Consultative Committee will include representatives of businesses that operate from the airport, passengers, and local residents. All committees have an independent chairperson.
If you would like to know more about the work of a Consultative Committee at any airport, contact the Committee secretary. Details of how to do this should be available on the relevant airport’s website.
In addition to the Airport Consultative Committees, there may also be local campaign groups around each airport.