Why does the noise at my house change from day to day?

Heathrow's two runways run east–west, and which way aircraft take off and land depends on the wind. About three-quarters of the time the airport is on westerly operations — aircraft land from the east (over Richmond, Hounslow and central west London) and take off to the west (over Windsor and Slough). When the wind swings easterly, roughly a quarter of the year, it flips — arrivals come in from the west over Windsor and departures climb east over London. So the same address can be busy one week and quiet the next.

What is runway alternation and when do I get respite?

On westerly operations Heathrow alternates its two runways, swapping which one lands and which departs at 3 PM each day (and on a weekly pattern at weekends). The idea is that communities under each runway get a predictable half-day of relief. On easterly operations there is currently no alternation — most landings use the northern runway — though Heathrow has committed to introducing easterly alternation by 2028.

Which areas around Heathrow are worst affected by aircraft noise?

The close-in villages west of the airport — Longford, Harmondsworth, Sipson, Harlington, Cranford and Stanwell — get the most, because they sit under low departures and arrivals whichever way the airport is operating. Further out, Hounslow, Isleworth and Richmond are heavily affected by the westerly arrival stream, while Windsor and Slough get the westerly departures.

What changed at Cranford?

The Cranford Agreement was a decades-old arrangement that stopped aircraft taking off from the northern runway towards the east, sparing Cranford from easterly departure noise. The government ended that agreement, so easterly departures now climb out over Cranford and Hatton — a significant change for those neighbourhoods, with the infrastructure to fully implement it tied to Heathrow's easterly-alternation plans.

Isn't Heathrow getting a third runway?

Expansion has been debated for years and was back on the political agenda in 2025, but a third runway is not built and remains subject to planning and legal processes. Separately, Heathrow is making airspace and infrastructure changes — including easterly runway alternation planned for 2028 — that the airport says will not increase the number of flights. The map above reflects how aircraft fly today, not any future runway.

How do I make a noise complaint about Heathrow?

Heathrow runs a noise complaints and enquiries service through its website, and the independent campaign groups HACAN and the Richmond Heathrow Campaign represent affected residents and track the issues. Logging complaints helps build the public record that feeds into Heathrow's Noise Action Plan and the government's night-flight reviews.

How do I check the noise at my specific address?

Use the pin-drop tool at the top of this page. Drop a pin on your home and it reports how many aircraft pass nearby, how loud they typically are, and how the activity splits across the hours of the day — useful at Heathrow, where the westerly/easterly split means it is worth checking how your address fares in both configurations.

Heathrow Flight Path Noise Map – London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

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

Aircraft noise around Heathrow in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Heathrow: Longford & Harmondsworth, Cranford, Hounslow, Hatton & Bedfont, Stanwell. Quietest: Egham & Staines. Busiest around 10 AM local time averaging 1639 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-19.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

1639

flights / day · 49,160 total

Busiest hour

10 AM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

10 AM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Longford & Harmondsworth

74 dB avg · ~1,294 flights/day · Loud conversation

The closest villages to the western runway ends — under departures or low arrivals in both runway directions, and long in the firing line of third-runway plans.

Does Heathrow Airport have a curfew?

Partial — no full curfew, but night flights (11:30 PM to 6 AM) are strictly limited.

Heathrow does not have a full overnight ban, but its night period — roughly 11:30 PM to 6 AM — is tightly controlled by a cap on the number of movements and a noise-quota system, so only the quietest aircraft may operate. Scheduled arrivals often begin around 4:30 AM. Heathrow also targets a set number of nights each year free of late-running flights, reporting 207 such nights in 2025. Because the westerly/easterly runway split changes the overnight picture so much, the hourly breakdown in the pin-drop report is the most reliable guide for your address.

Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe and, for the millions of people living beneath its flight paths, the most fought-over piece of airspace in Britain. It sits about 24 km west of central London, hemmed in by suburbs and villages on every side, and its two parallel east–west runways funnel a near-continuous stream of arrivals and departures over west London, the Thames valley and the edge of Berkshire. Decades of organised campaigning — HACAN, the Richmond Heathrow Campaign and a string of village groups — have made Heathrow noise a national political issue, from the third-runway debate to night flights to the ending of the Cranford Agreement.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

The single most important thing to understand about Heathrow noise is the wind. The two runways, 09L/27R and 09R/27L, run east–west, and the airport operates “westerly” about 75% of the time and “easterly” the rest. On westerlies, aircraft land from the east — over Richmond, Kew, Hounslow and Isleworth — and depart to the west over Windsor and Slough. On easterlies it reverses. So a home’s exposure depends on both where it sits and which way the wind is blowing.

The close-in villages — Longford, Harmondsworth, Sipson, Harlington, Cranford and Stanwell — are the worst affected, because they sit under low movements in both configurations. After them, the westerly arrival corridor through Hounslow, Isleworth, Brentford and out to Richmond, Kew and Mortlake carries the heaviest, most frequent overflights for the larger share of the year. To the west, Windsor, Slough and Datchet take the westerly departures and the easterly arrivals.

Area	Exposure	Why
Longford, Harmondsworth, Cranford, Stanwell	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Close-in villages, under low movements in both wind directions
Hounslow, Hatton, Bedfont	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under the westerly arrival stream / close-in departures
Isleworth, Richmond, Kew, Brentford	✈︎✈︎	Westerly approach corridor across west London
Windsor, Slough, Datchet, Colnbrook	✈︎✈︎	Westerly departures and easterly arrivals
Feltham, Egham, Staines	✈︎✈︎	Off to the side of the main tracks

Flight patterns and runway use

Heathrow’s two runways are 09L/27R (northern) and 09R/27L (southern), each around 3.7 km long. On westerly operations the airport runs runway alternation: one runway handles arrivals and the other departures, swapping roles at 3 PM so that communities under each get a predictable half-day of respite. On easterly operations there is currently no alternation — most landings use the northern runway — but Heathrow has committed to introducing easterly alternation by 2028, and submitted planning applications for the ground infrastructure to do it.

A defining recent change is the end of the Cranford Agreement, the long-standing arrangement that prevented easterly departures from the northern runway over Cranford. With it gone, easterly take-offs now climb out over Cranford and Hatton — neighbourhoods that historically escaped that noise. Heathrow’s broader Noise Action Plan 2024–2028 sets out dozens of commitments on quieter aircraft, steeper approaches and respite, against a backdrop of the recurring — and still unresolved — debate over a third runway.

When is it quietest?

Heathrow does not have a full curfew, but its night period (roughly 11:30 PM to 6 AM) is tightly controlled by a cap on the number of movements and a noise-quota system, so only the quietest aircraft operate overnight. In practice the quietest window is the small hours before the early-arrival bank, with scheduled landings often beginning around 4:30 AM. Heathrow reports the number of nights each year free of late-running flights — 207 in 2025 — as a respite measure. Because the westerly/easterly split changes the picture so much, the hourly breakdown in the pin-drop report is the most reliable guide to your own address.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map at the top of this page shows the overall noise and flight-density picture, but the pin drop is the most useful tool. Drop a pin on your home and the report tells you how many aircraft pass nearby, how loud they typically are, and how that activity splits across the hours of the day. At Heathrow it is worth checking how your address fares on both westerly and easterly days, since the same street can swing from a constant arrival stream to relative calm as the wind turns.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the noise at my house change from day to day?: Heathrow's two runways run east–west, and which way aircraft take off and land depends on the wind. About three-quarters of the time the airport is on westerly operations — aircraft land from the east (over Richmond, Hounslow and central west London) and take off to the west (over Windsor and Slough). When the wind swings easterly, roughly a quarter of the year, it flips — arrivals come in from the west over Windsor and departures climb east over London. So the same address can be busy one week and quiet the next.
What is runway alternation and when do I get respite?: On westerly operations Heathrow alternates its two runways, swapping which one lands and which departs at 3 PM each day (and on a weekly pattern at weekends). The idea is that communities under each runway get a predictable half-day of relief. On easterly operations there is currently no alternation — most landings use the northern runway — though Heathrow has committed to introducing easterly alternation by 2028.
Which areas around Heathrow are worst affected by aircraft noise?: The close-in villages west of the airport — Longford, Harmondsworth, Sipson, Harlington, Cranford and Stanwell — get the most, because they sit under low departures and arrivals whichever way the airport is operating. Further out, Hounslow, Isleworth and Richmond are heavily affected by the westerly arrival stream, while Windsor and Slough get the westerly departures.
What changed at Cranford?: The Cranford Agreement was a decades-old arrangement that stopped aircraft taking off from the northern runway towards the east, sparing Cranford from easterly departure noise. The government ended that agreement, so easterly departures now climb out over Cranford and Hatton — a significant change for those neighbourhoods, with the infrastructure to fully implement it tied to Heathrow's easterly-alternation plans.
Isn't Heathrow getting a third runway?: Expansion has been debated for years and was back on the political agenda in 2025, but a third runway is not built and remains subject to planning and legal processes. Separately, Heathrow is making airspace and infrastructure changes — including easterly runway alternation planned for 2028 — that the airport says will not increase the number of flights. The map above reflects how aircraft fly today, not any future runway.
How do I make a noise complaint about Heathrow?: Heathrow runs a noise complaints and enquiries service through its website, and the independent campaign groups HACAN and the Richmond Heathrow Campaign represent affected residents and track the issues. Logging complaints helps build the public record that feeds into Heathrow's Noise Action Plan and the government's night-flight reviews.
How do I check the noise at my specific address?: Use the pin-drop tool at the top of this page. Drop a pin on your home and it reports how many aircraft pass nearby, how loud they typically are, and how the activity splits across the hours of the day — useful at Heathrow, where the westerly/easterly split means it is worth checking how your address fares in both configurations.

Sources and further reading

Heathrow Noise Action Plan 2024–2028 — Heathrow Airport Limited
HACAN — Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise — HACAN
Richmond Heathrow Campaign — Night Flights — Richmond Heathrow Campaign
London Heathrow Airport — Wikipedia
Easterly alternation — Heathrow Airport Limited

Data updated 2026-10-19 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-06-12.

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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Heathrow Flight Path Noise Map – London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Aircraft noise around Heathrow in October 2026

Does Heathrow 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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