Noise
More than 50,000 aircraft operations are undertaken from East Midlands Airport each year, carrying approximately 5 million passengers and 300,000 tonnes of freight, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
An operation of this size and scale has the potential to disturb people and in recent years we have been working hard to ensure that the noise impact of our operations is minimised, particularly at night.
Our Policy
Our environmental policy commits us to:
- Develop a noise amelioration programme to influence the operation of aircraft, with the aim of minimising noise generation and the over-flying of populated areas.
- Seek to minimise the impact of noise from all aspects of the operation of aircraft and the airport.
Our Programmes
We have numerous programmes of work in this area and are happy to provide further information upon request, key parts of work include:
Noise preferential routes (NPRs)
First introduced in March 2001, our NPRs seek to direct departing aircraft to fly away from built up areas, so that they affect the minimum number of people.
See an illustrative plan of the routes >
Noise and radar track monitoring
Introduced at a cost of £150,000 the airport now records from radar where aircraft fly and how noisy they are. We use this information to ensure that airlines fly our NPRs accurately and also to enforce maximum noise limits on departing aircraft.
See how accurately each airline has been flying our NPRs >
Noise penalty scheme
We impose maximum noise limits on aircraft departing at night, and any aircraft that infringes our maximum noise limits is fined. In its first three years this scheme has fined airlines £79,550, all of which has been transferred to the Airport's Community Fund to support local projects.
Noise contours
We assess the impact of aircraft noise by producing noise contours.
To see a copy of the noise contours for 2009, please download these documents:
Night time Noise Contours 2009
In 1996 the airport's night noise contour was assessed to encompass an area of 14.6 sq. kilometres. As part of our commitment to controlling aircraft noise we have a target of ensuring that this contour remains at or below 16 sq. kilometres for the foreseeable future (up to 2016).
Noise Monitoring
In addition to producing noise contours we also periodically undertake noise monitoring in neighbouring communities. Over a 2 year period, and in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, we commissioned a detailed study into the impact of aircraft noise and the effect of changes to controlled airspace and aircraft routes.
You can download the full reports here
Noise Measurement Data Analysis March 2006
(PDF - 3.2Mb )
Noise Measurement Data Analysis February 2007
(PDF - 4.1Mb )
Community Noise Monitoring
Castle Donington Noise Monitoring - August 2009
Continuous Decent Approach
Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) has become globally recognised as the leading technique to manage noise from arriving aircraft. It is a procedure that is increasingly being used by airlines operating at East Midlands Airport, where CDA compliance is over 75%.
Download the CDA Basic Principles document from the CAA website >
View the CDA performance of aircraft operations from East Midlands Airport >
