Why do planes fly over Upplands Väsby?

Upplands Väsby sits directly under the straight-in approach to runway 01R, Arlanda's easterly parallel runway opened in 2003. A 2013 court ruling would have banned those approaches from 2018, but the Land and Environment Court of Appeal replaced the ban in 2014 with a condition to avoid the built-up area when capacity allows. A 2021 amendment permit — final when the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal on 5 October 2022 — added curved RNP approaches that bend arrivals around the town, and set a 750 m minimum altitude for 01L approaches passing over Väsby east of the runway extension. Drop a pin on the map above to see how much traffic actually crosses your street.

Which areas near Arlanda are quietest?

Places off the north-south parallel-runway axis and outside the runway 26 departure fan do best — Vallentuna town proper, Alsike, and the countryside east and west beyond the immediate corridors. The high-exposure band runs south along runway 1 and 3 (Rosersberg, Upplands Väsby), south-west over Märsta, and north-east over Odensala. Use the pin-drop tool above to check any specific address.

What are Arlanda's night flight rules?

Arlanda operates 24 hours, but between 10 PM and 6 AM the environmental permit bars straight-in and curved approaches to runway 01R and departures from runway 19R (except for runway work or safety), and requires night departures routed between Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna to stay on the SID until 3,050 m. Chapter 2-era aircraft under 34 tonnes are banned overnight and reverse thrust beyond idle is restricted. The practical effect is that night traffic concentrates on runway 1's southern corridor over Rosersberg.

Why is runway 3 (01R/19L) only used at certain times?

The environmental permit deliberately limits the third runway mainly to peak hours for environmental reasons — it opened in 2003 and its southern approach overflies Upplands Väsby, the most contested corridor at Arlanda. Outside peaks, traffic consolidates on runway 1 (01L/19R) and the crosswind runway 08/26, and the permit requires runway combinations to be rotated frequently so noise shifts between communities.

How many flights does Arlanda handle?

The environmental permit caps Arlanda at 350,000 aircraft movements per year — a hard legal ceiling, not a target. Actual traffic runs well below the cap, concentrated in morning and late-afternoon peaks. The live counters at the top of this page show current daily volumes, and the pin-drop tool breaks them down for your exact location.

How do I complain about aircraft noise from Arlanda?

Swedavia, the state-owned operator, takes aircraft-noise feedback through the 'synpunkter på flygbuller' page in the neighbours (grannar) section of swedavia.se, or via its switchboard on +46 10 109 10 00. Local noise associations in Rosersberg and Sollentuna also meet Swedavia regularly, and permit supervision sits with the county administrative board.

Is Arlanda or Bromma worse for noise in Stockholm?

They are different problems. Bromma is small but sits inside the city with a genuine hard curfew; Arlanda is Sweden's largest airport, 37 km north of central Stockholm, running 24 hours under permit conditions rather than a curfew. If you live in Sigtuna, Upplands Väsby or Sollentuna municipality, Arlanda dominates; in western inner Stockholm, Bromma does — see this site's Stockholm (Bromma) page for that side of the story.

Does the map show all aircraft at Arlanda?

Effectively yes — commercial traffic at Arlanda has near-complete ADS-B transponder coverage, so the heatmap and route-density layers reflect real flown tracks, including the curved RNP approaches around Upplands Väsby. Only a small share of light general-aviation traffic may be missing.

Stockholm Arlanda Flight Path Noise Map – Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN)

Name: Aircraft noise observations near Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Creator: Flight Path Noise
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Aircraft noise around Stockholm Arlanda in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Stockholm Arlanda: Rosersberg, Upplands Väsby, Märsta, Odensala. Quietest: Alsike, Vallentuna. Busiest around 3 PM local time averaging 620 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-19.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

620

flights / day · 18,591 total

Busiest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Arlandastad

75 dB avg · ~594 flights/day · Vacuum cleaner

Business and hotel district with limited housing immediately south of the field; constant ground and low-altitude noise

Does Stockholm Arlanda Airport have a curfew?

Partial — Arlanda is open 24 hours, but mandatory 10 PM – 6 AM permit rules lock down which runways and routes can be used.

Arlanda has no curfew — it operates around the clock — but its Swedish environmental permit, finalised when the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal on 25 May 2015 and taken into service on 1 January 2016, imposes hard night rules between 10 PM and 6 AM. Straight-in approaches to runway 01R (the path over Upplands Väsby) and departures from runway 19R are prohibited except during runway work or for safety reasons; night departures routed between the built-up areas of Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna must stay on the standard instrument departure until reaching 3,050 m; and curved RNP approaches to 01R are also barred at night. On top of that, older marginally-compliant (Chapter 2) aircraft under 34 tonnes may not operate overnight, reverse thrust beyond idle is restricted, and the permit caps the airport at 350,000 movements a year. These are mandatory permit and AIP conditions, not voluntary measures — but because flights continue all night on runway 1, the correct answer is “partial”, not “yes”. (Stockholm’s other airport, Bromma, has a true hard curfew — see its page for the contrast.)

Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN/ESSA) is Sweden’s largest airport, sitting in Sigtuna Municipality about 37 km north of central Stockholm near Märsta. Its noise story is written in court judgments as much as in flight tracks: the airport runs 24 hours under a Swedish environmental permit — finalised by the Supreme Court on 25 May 2015 after a years-long legal fight — that caps it at 350,000 movements a year and dictates, condition by condition, which runways and routes may be used at night. The flashpoint is Upplands Väsby, the town ~15 km south that sits directly under the straight-in approach to runway 01R. A 2013 court ruling would have banned those approaches from 2018; the appeal court softened that in 2014 to “avoid when capacity allows”, and a 2021 amendment permit — final in October 2022 — added curved satellite-guided approaches designed to steer arrivals around the town’s rooftops. Meanwhile Märsta and Sigtuna live with the east-west crosswind runway, and Rosersberg absorbs the night traffic the permit pushes onto runway 1.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Arlanda has three runways: runway 1 (01L/19R, 3,301 m), the main and longest, west of the terminals; runway 3 (01R/19L, 2,500 m), the easterly parallel opened in 2003 and used mainly in peak hours for environmental reasons; and runway 2 (08/26, 2,500 m), the east-west crosswind runway. The parallel pair points south toward Rosersberg and Upplands Väsby and north toward Odensala and Knivsta; runway 26 operations point west over Märsta and Sigtuna.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Rosersberg	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under runway 1’s southern corridor; night traffic concentrates here
Upplands Väsby	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Directly under the 01R straight-in approach
Märsta	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Closest town; runway 26 operations and the southern departure fan
Odensala	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Off the northern runway ends, under 01L/01R climb-outs
Arlandastad	✈︎✈︎	Immediately south of the field; ground and low-altitude noise
Steninge	✈︎✈︎	Brushed by south-western departures and runway 26 tracks
Rotebro (Sollentuna)	✈︎✈︎	Extended centreline; arrivals overhead at higher altitude
Sigtuna	✈︎✈︎	Off the parallel axis but under runway 26 departures
Lindholmen (Vallentuna)	✈︎✈︎	Under runway 08 departures and eastern downwind tracks
Knivsta	✈︎✈︎	Northern arrival/departure fan in 19 operations
Alsike	✈︎	Overflown at altitude, off the core corridors
Vallentuna	✈︎	East of the southern corridors; traffic at height

The high-exposure geography is a cross: a north-south band along the parallel runways (Rosersberg and Upplands Väsby to the south, Odensala to the north-east) and an east-west band from the crosswind runway (Märsta and Sigtuna to the west, the Lindholmen side of Vallentuna to the east). Quieter ground lies in the diagonals — Vallentuna town proper, Alsike, and the rural areas between the corridors. One Arlanda-specific caveat: the permit requires runway combinations to be rotated frequently, even in peak hours, so a spot that seems quiet on one visit can be under an active corridor the next day. Drop a pin on the map above and look at the averaged picture rather than a single afternoon.

Flight patterns and runway use

Arlanda mixes parallel and crosswind operations. Runways 1 and 3 are independent parallels flown simultaneously in peaks — typically one for arrivals, one for departures — while runway 3 is deliberately limited mainly to peak hours as a permit condition, because its southern approach overflies Upplands Väsby. Runway 2 (08/26) takes over in crosswinds and adds capacity, putting Märsta and Sigtuna under westbound operations and the Vallentuna side under eastbound ones.

The permit shapes the routes as much as the wind does. Approach procedures must avoid the built-up area of Upplands Väsby “when possible” without cutting capacity, and since the 2021/2022 amendment permit Swedavia and LFV fly curved RNP approaches — including Europe’s first Established-on-RNP concept — that bend arrivals around dense areas instead of running them down the straight-in centreline. The amendment also set a floor: 01L approaches may not overfly Upplands Väsby east of the runway extension below 750 m altitude. On the map’s route-density layer you can see the result — the classic straight-in spokes plus distinctive curved arcs feeding the parallel runways from the south-east and south-west.

At night (10 PM – 6 AM) the system contracts onto runway 1. Straight-in and curved approaches to 01R are barred except for runway work or safety, departures from 19R are prohibited, and departures routed between Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna must stay on the standard instrument departure until reaching 3,050 m. The practical consequence is that overnight arrivals and departures concentrate in runway 1’s southern corridor — which is why Rosersberg, a small community ~8.5 km south, carries a disproportionate share of Arlanda’s night noise and why its noise association meets Swedavia regularly.

When is it quietest?

Arlanda never fully stops, but the daily profile is strongly banked:

Night (10 PM – 6 AM): fewest movements, and the permit’s night rules apply — no 01R approaches, no 19R departures, SID-locked departures, no Chapter 2-era aircraft under 34 tonnes, reverse thrust limited to idle. Quietest hours almost everywhere except the runway 1 southern corridor over Rosersberg, where the remaining night traffic concentrates.
6 AM – 9 AM: the morning departure bank — the loudest stretch of the day, with domestic, European and long-haul departures stacked together and runway 3 activated for the peak.
Midday (10 AM – 3 PM): moderate and steady; runway 3 often rests, consolidating traffic on runways 1 and 2.
Late afternoon – evening (4 PM – 9 PM): the second peak, as European rotations return and evening long-haul departs.
9 PM – 10 PM: tapering toward the night regime.

Two Arlanda-specific wrinkles. First, the mandated runway rotation means “quiet” is community-relative — the same hour can be silent in Märsta and busy over Odensala depending on the combination in use. Second, wind flips matter most for the Upplands Väsby–Rosersberg axis: southerly operations (landing toward the north on 01L/01R) put arrivals over Väsby by day, while northerly operations shift the approach fan to the Knivsta side. The hourly breakdown in the pin-drop report shows how these patterns land on your specific address.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above answers “is this spot loud?” directly:

Search your address or postcode in the bar at the bottom of the map.
Drop a pin on the location marker that appears.
Read the noise report in the sidebar: average daily noise (Leq), peak observed dB, flights per day within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

Turn on the Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and the Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) to see Arlanda’s cross-shaped footprint and the curved approach arcs around Upplands Väsby. If you’re weighing a move to Märsta, Rosersberg, Upplands Väsby or the new housing at Steninge, check the hourly profile — the difference between a permit-protected night and a 6 AM departure bank overhead is exactly the kind of detail an averaged noise contour hides. And if your search is about Stockholm’s city airport rather than Arlanda, see the Bromma page, where a genuine hard curfew — not just night rules — applies.

Frequently asked questions

Why do planes fly over Upplands Väsby?: Upplands Väsby sits directly under the straight-in approach to runway 01R, Arlanda's easterly parallel runway opened in 2003. A 2013 court ruling would have banned those approaches from 2018, but the Land and Environment Court of Appeal replaced the ban in 2014 with a condition to avoid the built-up area when capacity allows. A 2021 amendment permit — final when the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal on 5 October 2022 — added curved RNP approaches that bend arrivals around the town, and set a 750 m minimum altitude for 01L approaches passing over Väsby east of the runway extension. Drop a pin on the map above to see how much traffic actually crosses your street.
Which areas near Arlanda are quietest?: Places off the north-south parallel-runway axis and outside the runway 26 departure fan do best — Vallentuna town proper, Alsike, and the countryside east and west beyond the immediate corridors. The high-exposure band runs south along runway 1 and 3 (Rosersberg, Upplands Väsby), south-west over Märsta, and north-east over Odensala. Use the pin-drop tool above to check any specific address.
What are Arlanda's night flight rules?: Arlanda operates 24 hours, but between 10 PM and 6 AM the environmental permit bars straight-in and curved approaches to runway 01R and departures from runway 19R (except for runway work or safety), and requires night departures routed between Upplands Väsby and Vallentuna to stay on the SID until 3,050 m. Chapter 2-era aircraft under 34 tonnes are banned overnight and reverse thrust beyond idle is restricted. The practical effect is that night traffic concentrates on runway 1's southern corridor over Rosersberg.
Why is runway 3 (01R/19L) only used at certain times?: The environmental permit deliberately limits the third runway mainly to peak hours for environmental reasons — it opened in 2003 and its southern approach overflies Upplands Väsby, the most contested corridor at Arlanda. Outside peaks, traffic consolidates on runway 1 (01L/19R) and the crosswind runway 08/26, and the permit requires runway combinations to be rotated frequently so noise shifts between communities.
How many flights does Arlanda handle?: The environmental permit caps Arlanda at 350,000 aircraft movements per year — a hard legal ceiling, not a target. Actual traffic runs well below the cap, concentrated in morning and late-afternoon peaks. The live counters at the top of this page show current daily volumes, and the pin-drop tool breaks them down for your exact location.
How do I complain about aircraft noise from Arlanda?: Swedavia, the state-owned operator, takes aircraft-noise feedback through the 'synpunkter på flygbuller' page in the neighbours (grannar) section of swedavia.se, or via its switchboard on +46 10 109 10 00. Local noise associations in Rosersberg and Sollentuna also meet Swedavia regularly, and permit supervision sits with the county administrative board.
Is Arlanda or Bromma worse for noise in Stockholm?: They are different problems. Bromma is small but sits inside the city with a genuine hard curfew; Arlanda is Sweden's largest airport, 37 km north of central Stockholm, running 24 hours under permit conditions rather than a curfew. If you live in Sigtuna, Upplands Väsby or Sollentuna municipality, Arlanda dominates; in western inner Stockholm, Bromma does — see this site's Stockholm (Bromma) page for that side of the story.
Does the map show all aircraft at Arlanda?: Effectively yes — commercial traffic at Arlanda has near-complete ADS-B transponder coverage, so the heatmap and route-density layers reflect real flown tracks, including the curved RNP approaches around Upplands Väsby. Only a small share of light general-aviation traffic may be missing.

Sources and further reading

Environment — Stockholm Arlanda Airport — Swedavia
Gällande tillstånd och villkor för verksamheten vid Stockholm Arlanda Airport — Swedavia
Mark- och miljööverdomstolen dom 2014-11-21, mål M 11706-13 (Arlanda miljötillstånd) — Svea hovrätt / Mark- och miljööverdomstolen
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport — airport noise regulation information — Boeing airport noise regulations database
Stockholm Arlanda Airport — Wikipedia
Arlandagrannar vill slippa en del buller — Sveriges Radio

Data updated 2026-10-19 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-07-17.

30 dB	Whisper
45 dB	Quiet residential
55 dB	Normal conversation
65 dB	Busy road
75 dB	Vacuum cleaner
85 dB	Heavy traffic
95 dB	Motorcycle nearby

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Stockholm Arlanda Flight Path Noise Map – Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN)

Aircraft noise around Stockholm Arlanda in October 2026

Does Stockholm Arlanda Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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