Why do so many planes fly over Yeadon and Horsforth?

Leeds Bradford has a single runway (14/32) on a hilltop at Yeadon, so every arrival and departure uses the same northwest–southeast axis. Yeadon has the airport on its doorstep, while Horsforth sits about 3.5 km southeast directly under the extended centreline — runway 32 arrivals descend low over the town and runway 14 departures climb out overhead. Drop a pin on the map above to see the flight count for your street.

Which side of Leeds Bradford Airport is quietest?

Areas off the 14/32 runway axis — Cookridge and Pool-in-Wharfedale to the east and northeast, Apperley Bridge to the southwest, and Baildon toward Bradford — see far fewer direct overflights. The loudest band runs northwest–southeast through Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon, Horsforth and into northwest Leeds. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.

Why are planes flying over Guiseley and Menston so often?

Prevailing westerly winds mean runway 32 is used roughly 60–70% of the time, and its departures climb out northwest directly over Guiseley, then Menston and Burley-in-Wharfedale into Wharfedale. The airport's own noise material names these towns as under the runway 32 departure track. When the wind swings and runway 14 takes over, the same communities get arrivals descending from the northwest instead.

How many night flights does Leeds Bradford Airport have?

Night flying (11 PM – 7 AM) is capped by planning conditions at 2,800 movements per summer season and 1,200 per winter, with up to 10% transferable between consecutive seasons. In practice that means a busy summer night schedule — early-morning holiday departures in particular — and the airport, the council and campaigners have fought for years over exactly how the cap is counted.

Did Leeds Bradford Airport break its night flight limits?

It exceeded the 2,800 summer night cap by 747 flights in 2022, and Leeds City Council served a Breach of Condition Notice in 2023. Campaign group GALBA also counted 3,740 summer night movements in 2024, about 820 over the flexed cap of 2,920. However, in May 2026 the council issued a certificate of lawfulness deeming 2023–2025 operations compliant and ruling that 941 extra night movements a year by quieter aircraft are lawful — a decision GALBA disputes and may take to judicial review.

How do I complain about aircraft noise from Leeds Bradford Airport?

Noise complaints go to the airport's Environment Department via the Airport Noise form on leedsbradfordairport.co.uk. The airport operates four fixed noise monitors plus mobile units to check departures against its Noise Preferential Routes. Complaint statistics are reported through the airport's consultative committee, and campaign group GALBA independently tracks night-flight numbers.

Why does aircraft noise feel so low over the towns near LBA?

The airport sits on a 208 m hilltop — the highest major airport in England — so the surrounding towns are much closer to aircraft altitude than they would be at a valley airport. Arrivals crossing Horsforth or Guiseley on final are only a few hundred metres up, and departures are still climbing hard as they cross the built-up areas on either end of the runway.

Do the flight paths over Leeds Bradford ever change?

The corridors themselves are fixed by the single runway's alignment, but which end is in use changes with the wind — westerlies favour runway 32 (arrivals over Horsforth and Leeds, departures over Guiseley into Wharfedale) and the pattern reverses on runway 14. Noise Preferential Routes apply to departing jets, though weather and traffic can force deviations, turboprops are exempt, and arrivals have no NPRs at all.

Leeds Bradford Flight Path Noise Map – Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA)

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

Aircraft noise around Leeds Bradford in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Leeds Bradford: Yeadon, Horsforth, Guiseley, Rawdon. Quietest: Pool-in-Wharfedale, Apperley Bridge, Cookridge, Baildon. Busiest around 2 PM local time averaging 180 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-19.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

180

flights / day · 5,404 total

Busiest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Guiseley

67 dB avg · ~126 flights/day · Busy road

Close-in on the northwest side — runway 32 departures (the majority) climb over Guiseley and runway 14 arrivals pass low on final

Does Leeds Bradford Airport have a curfew?

Partially — no curfew (24-hour licence), but legally binding night caps apply 11 PM – 7 AM.

Leeds Bradford has operated around the clock since 1994, so there is no curfew in the Sydney sense — but night flying (11 PM to 7 AM) is limited by legally binding Leeds City Council planning conditions, not voluntary policy. The caps are 2,800 movements per summer season and 1,200 per winter, with up to 10% transferable between consecutive seasons (an effective flexed summer ceiling of 2,920), and only the quieter aircraft categories may fly at night. Enforcement has been a running saga. The airport exceeded the summer cap in 2022 by 747 flights, and the council served a Breach of Condition Notice in 2023. After a March 2025 public inquiry, the Planning Inspectorate ruled in summer 2025 largely against the airport’s attempt to reinterpret the caps, upholding the original limits. Then in May 2026 the council issued a certificate of lawfulness deeming the airport’s 2023–2025 night operations compliant and ruling that 941 additional night movements per year by quieter aircraft are lawful on top of the caps — a decision campaign group GALBA disputes and may challenge by judicial review. The practical upshot for residents is real overnight traffic in summer, front-loaded around early-morning holiday departures.

Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA/EGNM) sits on an exposed hilltop at Yeadon, 208 m up — the highest major airport in England — so its single 14/32 runway funnels every arrival and departure over the tightly packed towns of Wharfedale and Airedale below. It has also become one of the UK’s most contested noise battlegrounds. The airport withdrew its terminal-expansion application in 2022, was found to have breached its summer night-flight cap in 2022 (by 747 flights, drawing a council enforcement notice in 2023), and after a March 2025 public inquiry the Planning Inspectorate ruled in summer 2025 against its attempt to reinterpret the night caps. Then in May 2026 the story turned again — Leeds City Council certified the airport’s 2023–2025 night operations as lawful and allowed 941 extra quieter-aircraft night movements a year, a decision campaigners are now weighing a judicial review against. For residents of Yeadon, Guiseley, Rawdon, Horsforth and the Otley side, all of this plays out directly overhead.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Everything at Leeds Bradford happens on one runway — 14/32, 2,250 m of concrete oriented northwest–southeast. A former crosswind runway (09/27) closed permanently in 2005 and is now taxiway and apron, so there is no alternative alignment: the noise footprint is a single corridor running from Wharfedale in the northwest, through the airfield at Yeadon, down to Horsforth and northwest Leeds in the southeast.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Yeadon	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Airport on its doorstep; ground noise plus low traffic on both runway ends
Horsforth	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under the extended centreline; 32 arrivals low overhead, 14 departures climbing out
Guiseley	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Close-in northwest; majority runway 32 departures climb directly over
Rawdon	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Immediately south, clipped by the southeast corridor, near ground noise
Menston	✈︎✈︎	On the runway 32 climb-out toward Wharfedale
Burley-in-Wharfedale	✈︎✈︎	Further out on the 32 departure/14 arrival axis
Otley	✈︎✈︎	Off-centreline north, but under 32 departures turning over Wharfedale
Calverley	✈︎✈︎	Near the southeast corridor; 32 arrivals pass on final
Kirkstall (NW Leeds)	✈︎✈︎	Under the 32 arrival stream, higher than Horsforth but steady
Bramhope	✈︎✈︎	Northeast, off-axis; base-leg and downwind traffic
Pool-in-Wharfedale	✈︎	Off-corridor northeast; occasional joining traffic
Apperley Bridge	✈︎	Southwest of the corridor; edge-of-track only
Cookridge	✈︎	East, clear of the 14/32 axis
Baildon	✈︎	Toward Bradford, well off both centrelines

The pattern is unusually simple compared with multi-runway airports: one bright northwest–southeast band. The practical rule of thumb for house-hunters is perpendicular distance from the runway axis matters far more than straight-line distance from the airport. Cookridge is barely 3.6 km from the field yet sits in the quiet zone, while Burley-in-Wharfedale — more than twice as far away — still gets frequent overflights because it lies on the centreline. The hilltop siting compounds it: because the airfield is at 208 m, aircraft are relatively low over the surrounding towns on both ends of the runway. If you’re weighing an address anywhere in the Guiseley–Yeadon–Horsforth band, drop a pin on the map above and check the street-level numbers.

Flight patterns and runway use

Prevailing westerly winds make runway 32 the de facto preferential runway, used roughly 60–70% of the time. In that configuration, departures climb out northwest over Guiseley, Menston and Burley-in-Wharfedale into Wharfedale, while arrivals descend from the southeast over Horsforth, Rawdon and northwest Leeds — meaning both ends of the corridor are active simultaneously, just with different noise characters (climbing jets at full power to the northwest, descending jets with gear and flaps to the southeast).

When the wind swings easterly and runway 14 takes over, the pattern reverses: departures head southeast over Horsforth toward Leeds, and arrivals approach from the northwest over Wharfedale. No community on the axis escapes entirely in either configuration; the wind just decides who gets departures and who gets arrivals.

Noise Preferential Routes (NPRs) apply to departing jet aircraft and are designed to route climb-outs over the least populated ground. Three caveats matter for residents. First, weather and traffic can force deviations from the NPRs. Second, turboprops and light aircraft are exempt. Third, no NPRs apply to arrivals — final approach is a straight line to the runway, which is why Horsforth under the runway 32 glidepath experiences such consistent noise. The airport monitors compliance with four fixed noise monitors plus mobile units.

The route-density layer on the map above makes the geometry obvious: a single bright corridor along the 14/32 axis, with departure tracks fanning slightly as jets turn onto course after the initial climb-out, and the arrival stream extending in a straight line well beyond Kirkstall into Leeds.

When is it quietest?

Leeds Bradford is licensed for 24-hour operation and has been since 1994, so there is no guaranteed silent window — but night flying is capped (see the curfew section above), which shapes the daily rhythm:

Early morning (5 AM – 7 AM): often the most intrusive period in summer. Holiday charter and low-cost departures are stacked before the official night period ends at 7 AM, using the capped night quota.
Morning (7 AM – 10 AM): sustained departure activity as the first wave heads out to European destinations.
Midday (10 AM – 3 PM): moderate; steady but less dense than the shoulders.
Evening (4 PM – 10 PM): the return wave — arrivals from European leisure routes stack up through the evening.
Night (11 PM – 7 AM): capped at 2,800 movements per summer season and 1,200 per winter (10% flex between seasons), quieter aircraft categories only. Winter nights are genuinely quiet; summer nights are not, especially around late-arriving inbound holiday flights and the pre-dawn departure bank.

Seasonality matters more at LBA than at most UK airports. The leisure-heavy schedule means summer is dramatically busier than winter, both overall and at night — the summer night cap is more than double the winter one, and it’s the summer figure the airport has repeatedly bumped against. If you visit a prospective address in February, remember you’re sampling the quiet season.

The map’s hourly profile for any pinned address shows this shape directly — check the 5–7 AM band in particular if early-morning noise would affect you.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above answers “is this street loud?” in three steps:

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

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make the single-runway geometry unmistakable — one bright band from Wharfedale through Yeadon to northwest Leeds. Addresses in Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon and Horsforth will show the strongest numbers; anywhere well off the 14/32 axis should come back green. Because the airport is on a hilltop, pay attention to the peak-dB figure as well as the average — individual overflights near the centreline are lower and louder than the daily Leq alone suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Why do so many planes fly over Yeadon and Horsforth?: Leeds Bradford has a single runway (14/32) on a hilltop at Yeadon, so every arrival and departure uses the same northwest–southeast axis. Yeadon has the airport on its doorstep, while Horsforth sits about 3.5 km southeast directly under the extended centreline — runway 32 arrivals descend low over the town and runway 14 departures climb out overhead. Drop a pin on the map above to see the flight count for your street.
Which side of Leeds Bradford Airport is quietest?: Areas off the 14/32 runway axis — Cookridge and Pool-in-Wharfedale to the east and northeast, Apperley Bridge to the southwest, and Baildon toward Bradford — see far fewer direct overflights. The loudest band runs northwest–southeast through Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon, Horsforth and into northwest Leeds. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.
Why are planes flying over Guiseley and Menston so often?: Prevailing westerly winds mean runway 32 is used roughly 60–70% of the time, and its departures climb out northwest directly over Guiseley, then Menston and Burley-in-Wharfedale into Wharfedale. The airport's own noise material names these towns as under the runway 32 departure track. When the wind swings and runway 14 takes over, the same communities get arrivals descending from the northwest instead.
How many night flights does Leeds Bradford Airport have?: Night flying (11 PM – 7 AM) is capped by planning conditions at 2,800 movements per summer season and 1,200 per winter, with up to 10% transferable between consecutive seasons. In practice that means a busy summer night schedule — early-morning holiday departures in particular — and the airport, the council and campaigners have fought for years over exactly how the cap is counted.
Did Leeds Bradford Airport break its night flight limits?: It exceeded the 2,800 summer night cap by 747 flights in 2022, and Leeds City Council served a Breach of Condition Notice in 2023. Campaign group GALBA also counted 3,740 summer night movements in 2024, about 820 over the flexed cap of 2,920. However, in May 2026 the council issued a certificate of lawfulness deeming 2023–2025 operations compliant and ruling that 941 extra night movements a year by quieter aircraft are lawful — a decision GALBA disputes and may take to judicial review.
How do I complain about aircraft noise from Leeds Bradford Airport?: Noise complaints go to the airport's Environment Department via the Airport Noise form on leedsbradfordairport.co.uk. The airport operates four fixed noise monitors plus mobile units to check departures against its Noise Preferential Routes. Complaint statistics are reported through the airport's consultative committee, and campaign group GALBA independently tracks night-flight numbers.
Why does aircraft noise feel so low over the towns near LBA?: The airport sits on a 208 m hilltop — the highest major airport in England — so the surrounding towns are much closer to aircraft altitude than they would be at a valley airport. Arrivals crossing Horsforth or Guiseley on final are only a few hundred metres up, and departures are still climbing hard as they cross the built-up areas on either end of the runway.
Do the flight paths over Leeds Bradford ever change?: The corridors themselves are fixed by the single runway's alignment, but which end is in use changes with the wind — westerlies favour runway 32 (arrivals over Horsforth and Leeds, departures over Guiseley into Wharfedale) and the pattern reverses on runway 14. Noise Preferential Routes apply to departing jets, though weather and traffic can force deviations, turboprops are exempt, and arrivals have no NPRs at all.

Sources and further reading

Noise management — Leeds Bradford Airport
Night flights — GALBA (Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport)
Victory for local campaigners as Leeds Bradford Airport's attempt to expand night flights by stealth is defeated — Aviation Environment Federation
Leeds Bradford Airport — Wikipedia
EGNM Leeds Bradford — Aerodrome AIP entry — NATS UK AIP
New Leeds Bradford Airport night flights application branded 'irresponsible' by campaign group — Yorkshire Evening Post

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

Flight Noise

Layers

Live Tracking

Filters

Saved Pins

Flight Noise — User Manual

What is this?

Live Tracking

Heatmap

Flight Paths

Point Analysis

Noise Level Reference

Filters

Tips

Share this map

Pins shared with you

Leeds Bradford Flight Path Noise Map – Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA)

Aircraft noise around Leeds Bradford in October 2026

Does Leeds Bradford 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

Other airports we track

🇦🇺 Adelaide, Australia

🇪🇸 Alicante, Spain

🇳🇱 Amsterdam, Netherlands

🇦🇺 Archerfield, Australia

🇬🇷 Athens, Greece

🇺🇸 Atlanta, USA

🇳🇿 Auckland, New Zealand

🇺🇸 Austin, USA

🇮🇩 Bali, Indonesia

🇦🇺 Ballina, Australia

🇺🇸 Baltimore, USA

🇮🇳 Bangalore, India

🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand

🇦🇺 Bankstown, Australia

🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain

🇫🇷 Basel, France

🇱🇧 Beirut, Lebanon

🇬🇧 Belfast City, UK

🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany

🇪🇸 Bilbao, Spain

🇨🇦 Billy Bishop, Canada

🇬🇧 Birmingham, UK

🇨🇴 Bogotá, Colombia

🇺🇸 Boston, USA

🇦🇺 Brisbane, Australia

🇬🇧 Bristol, UK

🇧🇪 Brussels, Belgium

🇧🇪 Brussels Charleroi, Belgium

🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, Argentina

🇦🇺 Canberra, Australia

🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa

🇨🇴 Cartagena, Colombia

🇺🇸 Charlotte, USA

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand

🇺🇸 Chicago, USA

🇺🇸 Chicago O'Hare, USA

🇳🇿 Christchurch, New Zealand

🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany

🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark

🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru

🇻🇳 Da Nang, Vietnam

🇺🇸 Dallas, USA

🇮🇳 Delhi, India

🇺🇸 Denver, USA

🇺🇸 Detroit, USA

🇺🇸 DFW, USA

🇶🇦 Doha, Qatar

🇹🇭 Don Mueang, Thailand

🇦🇪 Dubai, UAE

🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland

🇩🇪 Düsseldorf, Germany

🇬🇧 Edinburgh, UK

🇳🇱 Eindhoven, Netherlands

Adelaide, Australia

Alicante, Spain

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Archerfield, Australia

Athens, Greece

Atlanta, USA

Auckland, New Zealand

Austin, USA

Bali, Indonesia

Ballina, Australia

Baltimore, USA

Bangalore, India

Bangkok, Thailand

Bankstown, Australia

Barcelona, Spain

Basel, France

Beirut, Lebanon

Belfast City, UK

Berlin, Germany

Bilbao, Spain

Billy Bishop, Canada

Birmingham, UK

Bogotá, Colombia

Boston, USA

Brisbane, Australia

Bristol, UK

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels Charleroi, Belgium

Budapest, Hungary

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Canberra, Australia

Cape Town, South Africa

Cartagena, Colombia

Charlotte, USA

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chicago, USA

Chicago O'Hare, USA

Christchurch, New Zealand

Cologne, Germany

Copenhagen, Denmark

Cusco, Peru

Da Nang, Vietnam

Dallas, USA

Delhi, India

Denver, USA

Detroit, USA

DFW, USA

Doha, Qatar

Don Mueang, Thailand

Dubai, UAE

Dublin, Ireland

Düsseldorf, Germany

Edinburgh, UK

Eindhoven, Netherlands

Faro, Portugal

Florence, Italy

Fort Lauderdale, USA

Frankfurt, Germany

Funchal, Portugal

Gatwick, UK

Geneva, Switzerland

Glasgow, UK

Gold Coast, Australia

Hamburg, Germany

Hanoi, Vietnam

Heathrow, UK

Helsinki, Finland

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hobart, Australia

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Honolulu, USA

Houston, USA

Houston IAH, USA

Ibiza, Spain

Jandakot, Australia

John Wayne, USA

Kathmandu, Nepal

Keflavík, Iceland

Kraków, Poland

Las Vegas, USA