Living Near the Airport

East Midlands Airport has a single runway, running east to west. It handles passenger flights, freight and mail flights, and training and general aviation flights.

Most passenger flights take place during the day. At night, flights are a mix of passenger, freight and mail. Night-time freight flights are a big part of why we're the UK's busiest airport for cargo carried on dedicated cargo aircraft.

Which direction planes fly

For safety, aircraft take off and land into the wind. Because the wind here usually comes from the west, most aircraft take off and land heading west. This is known as Runway 27.

You can find out more about aircraft operations and living near the airport on our new Community Noise Portal.

If you live near East Midlands Airport, seeing and hearing aircraft is part of everyday life. We’re committed to being a responsible neighbour and managing the impact of our operations on local communities.

To help you understand how the airport operates and how we manage our environmental impact, you can explore our reports, policies, and guidance below.

Air quality

We monitor air quality around the airport throughout the year. This lets us:

• measure air pollution in the surrounding area

• compare results with UK air quality objectives

• track changes over time

Download our 2025 Air Quality report (PDF) or view the latest air quality data on Air Quality England.

Policies and guidance

• Managing the impact of noise (PDF)

• Managing emissions and air quality (PDF)

• Environment and Energy Policy (PDF)

• Our carbon neutral commitments

View the latest operational performance data for East Midlands Airport.