Why are planes flying over Takeley and Molehill Green?

Both sit almost on the axis of Stansted's single runway. Molehill Green is just off the runway 22 threshold, so arrivals from the north-east — about 70% of the year — pass overhead at very low altitude on short final. Takeley is against the south-eastern boundary, under the runway 22 climb-out and the low turns onto the southbound departure routes. Drop a pin on the map above to see the exact daily count over your house.

How many night flights does Stansted have?

During the night quota period (11:30 PM – 6 AM) Stansted is capped at 13,700 movements a year, split between winter and summer seasons, plus an annual noise quota budget — a government-set limit, since Stansted is one of the UK's three designated airports. That is still far more night flying than Heathrow allows, and the 4 AM – 6 AM window is busy with early Ryanair departures and overnight freight.

Which villages around Stansted are quietest for aircraft noise?

Places off the runway 04/22 axis and outside the three departure corridors fare best. Henham and Sawbridgeworth see only higher-altitude overflight, and Sawbridgeworth and Stansted Mountfitchet are protected by an instruction not to overfly them below 2,500 ft. The worst-affected ring — Takeley, Molehill Green, Broxted, Great Hallingbury, Thaxted and Hatfield Broad Oak — sits on or near the extended centreline. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.

Do planes fly over Bishop's Stortford?

Pilots are instructed to avoid overflying the centre of Bishop's Stortford, but the town sits just west-south-west of the runway, so westbound departures, radar vectors and runway 04 arrivals skirt its edges — it generates a large share of the airport's noise complaints. Exposure varies street by street; the map above shows which side of town catches more traffic.

Will the expansion to 51 million passengers mean more noise?

In December 2024 Uttlesford District Council's planning committee approved growth to 51 million passengers a year, with night-noise conditions attached — after refusing the earlier 35-to-43-million application in 2020 and losing on appeal in 2021 with costs. More passengers means more daytime movements over the same villages, but the statutory night caps and a new seasonal night noise-quota limit from summer 2026 constrain how much of that growth can happen overnight.

How do I complain about aircraft noise from Stansted?

Contact London Stansted's Noise Line on 0800 243 788 or use the noise-complaint form at stanstedairport.com — the airport's Noise Communications Team investigates individual flights. Checking the map above first helps identify whether the aircraft over you was a runway 22 arrival, a departure on a Noise Preferential Route, or an off-route vector.

Stansted Flight Path Noise Map – London Stansted Airport (STN)

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

Aircraft noise around Stansted in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Stansted: Takeley, Molehill Green, Broxted, Great Hallingbury, Thaxted. Quietest: Sawbridgeworth, Henham. Busiest around 2 PM local time averaging 839 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-19.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

839

flights / day · 25,184 total

Busiest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Great Hallingbury

74 dB avg · ~529 flights/day · Loud conversation

Sits under the runway 04 final approach and beneath runway 22 departures climbing south-west before their route turns

Does Stansted Airport have a curfew?

No outright ban — but a mandatory government night regime caps flights between 11:30 PM and 6 AM.

Stansted operates 24 hours a day, so there is no curfew in the Sydney sense — but it is one of only three UK airports (with Heathrow and Gatwick) whose night flying is restricted directly by the government rather than by airport policy. The core rules apply during the night quota period, 11:30 PM to 6 AM, when the noisiest aircraft types are banned and movements are capped at 13,700 a year (split between winter and summer seasons) alongside an annual noise quota budget that limits the total noise energy flown. A wider night period, 11 PM to 7 AM, carries additional monitoring and a planning condition on the night noise contour. In December 2024 the government confirmed the regime rolls over unchanged from October 2025 to October 2028. Even so, Stansted is permitted far more night flights than Heathrow — Ryanair’s early-morning departure waves and a substantial overnight express-freight operation mean the 4 AM to 6 AM period is genuinely busy, which is the single biggest complaint from villages under the flight paths.

London Stansted (STN/EGSS) — ~50 km north-east of central London in the Uttlesford district of Essex, and not to be confused with Heathrow, Gatwick or Luton — is Ryanair’s largest base worldwide, handling about 29.8 million passengers in 2024. Its noise story is defined less by daytime jet traffic than by what happens after 11 PM. As one of the UK’s three government-designated airports it operates under a statutory night regime — a 13,700-a-year night movement cap plus a noise quota — yet it still handles far more night flights than Heathrow, driven by Ryanair’s early-wave departures and a substantial overnight express-freight operation. The single 3,049 m runway concentrates everything over a ring of small Essex and Hertfordshire villages: Takeley, Molehill Green and Broxted sit almost on the runway centreline, while Bishop’s Stortford and Thaxted bracket the two ends. Noise has also been the currency of a long planning war with Uttlesford District Council, which in December 2024 approved growth to 51 million passengers a year — with night-noise conditions attached.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Stansted has a single runway, 04/22 (3,049 m), aligned north-east to south-west. Prevailing south-westerly winds mean runway 22 — landing from the north-east, departing toward the south-west — is in use about 70% of the year, with runway 04 covering the remaining 30%. That single axis makes exposure very predictable: the closer a village sits to the extended centreline or to one of the six departure corridors, the louder it is.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Takeley	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Against the SE boundary; under 22 climb-out and low southbound departure turns
Molehill Green	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Almost on the centreline off the 22 threshold; very low short-final overflight
Broxted	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under 22 final approach ~3 nm out
Great Hallingbury	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under 04 final approach and 22 departure climb
Thaxted	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under the 22 arrival stream ~5 miles out, limited respite
Hatfield Broad Oak	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Beneath southbound Dover/Clacton departure corridors
Stansted Mountfitchet	✈︎✈︎	Off-axis; protected below 2,500 ft but hears Buzad departures
Elsenham	✈︎✈︎	Under the northbound Buzad route; edge of the arrival stream
Bishop’s Stortford	✈︎✈︎	Town centre avoided, but edges skirted by departures and 04 arrivals
Great Dunmow	✈︎✈︎	Under eastbound Clacton departures and arrival vectors
Little Hallingbury	✈︎✈︎	On the 04 approach a few miles out; quieter in 22 operations
Hatfield Heath	✈︎✈︎	Beneath SW departure tracks near the 04 arrival corridor
Sawbridgeworth	✈︎	Further out on the 04 axis; not overflown below 2,500 ft
Henham	✈︎	Edge of the Buzad corridor; climbing traffic at moderate altitude

The pattern to internalise: north-east of the airport is arrival country (Molehill Green, Broxted, Thaxted take the runway 22 stream most of the year), south-west and south is departure country (Great Hallingbury, Hatfield Broad Oak, Takeley), and the quietest nearby spots sit perpendicular to the runway axis, outside the three departure corridors. If you’re house-hunting in Uttlesford or east Hertfordshire, drop a pin on the map above — exposure can change substantially between villages just a couple of miles apart.

Flight patterns and runway use

All Stansted departures must follow one of six Noise Preferential Routes (NPRs) — three from each runway end, named Buzad (toward the north), Clacton (toward the east) and Dover (toward the south). Each is a 3 km-wide corridor that aircraft must stay inside until reaching 3,000–4,000 ft — 4,000 ft on all routes during the 11:30 PM – 6 AM night quota period — after which air traffic control can vector them toward their airway. These corridors explain why departure noise clusters over Takeley, Hatfield Broad Oak and Great Dunmow rather than spreading evenly.

Arrivals have no fixed routes. Aircraft are vectored onto the extended centreline and encouraged to fly continuous descent approaches, but the joining points vary — a persistent grievance in villages under the runway 22 approach, where the parish councils of Thaxted and Broxted have long argued that concentration without a published route gives them the noise burden with none of the predictability. Local abatement instructions do carve out specific protections: pilots must avoid overflying the centre of Bishop’s Stortford, and must not overfly Sawbridgeworth or Stansted Mountfitchet below 2,500 ft. A sound insulation grant scheme covers qualifying homes near the airport.

Traffic itself is dominated by Ryanair’s narrow-body schedule — Stansted is the carrier’s largest base anywhere — plus a significant overnight express-cargo operation that makes Stansted one of the UK’s busiest freight airports. The route-density layer on the map above makes the geometry obvious: a single bright spine along the 04/22 axis, three departure fans off each end, and rapid fall-off away from the corridors.

When is it quietest?

Stansted’s daily rhythm is unusual among London airports because the night is regulated but not silent:

11:30 PM – 4 AM: the quietest stretch. Night quota rules ban the noisiest types and the movement cap keeps numbers low, but express-freight arrivals and departures continue through the night.
4 AM – 6 AM: noticeably busier than most UK airports — freight movements plus the positioning of Ryanair’s first wave.
6 AM – 8 AM: the loudest window of the day. Ryanair’s early departure banks leave in quick succession off both the southbound and northbound corridors.
Midday: sustained but moderate single-runway flow.
4 PM – 10 PM: heavy evening arrival banks as the based fleet returns; runway 22 approaches stream over Thaxted, Broxted and Molehill Green.
10 PM – 11:30 PM: tapering, with late arrivals racing the start of the quota period.

Wind direction matters as much as the clock. When a north-easterly sets in and operations flip to runway 04, the arrival stream moves from the Thaxted side to the Hallingburys and Sawbridgeworth, and climb-out noise shifts north-east — roughly 30% of the year, so “quiet” villages on one axis get their turn under traffic.

How to check noise at your specific address

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

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

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make Stansted’s single-spine pattern with three departure fans per runway end easy to read. Because exposure here is so axis-dependent, two villages an equal distance from the terminal can differ enormously — Molehill Green sits under short final while Henham, barely further away, mostly hears climbing traffic at altitude. Check the hourly profile too if night noise is your concern: the 4 AM – 6 AM freight and first-wave window is what most often surprises new arrivals to the area.

Frequently asked questions

Why are planes flying over Takeley and Molehill Green?: Both sit almost on the axis of Stansted's single runway. Molehill Green is just off the runway 22 threshold, so arrivals from the north-east — about 70% of the year — pass overhead at very low altitude on short final. Takeley is against the south-eastern boundary, under the runway 22 climb-out and the low turns onto the southbound departure routes. Drop a pin on the map above to see the exact daily count over your house.
How many night flights does Stansted have?: During the night quota period (11:30 PM – 6 AM) Stansted is capped at 13,700 movements a year, split between winter and summer seasons, plus an annual noise quota budget — a government-set limit, since Stansted is one of the UK's three designated airports. That is still far more night flying than Heathrow allows, and the 4 AM – 6 AM window is busy with early Ryanair departures and overnight freight.
Which villages around Stansted are quietest for aircraft noise?: Places off the runway 04/22 axis and outside the three departure corridors fare best. Henham and Sawbridgeworth see only higher-altitude overflight, and Sawbridgeworth and Stansted Mountfitchet are protected by an instruction not to overfly them below 2,500 ft. The worst-affected ring — Takeley, Molehill Green, Broxted, Great Hallingbury, Thaxted and Hatfield Broad Oak — sits on or near the extended centreline. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.
Do planes fly over Bishop's Stortford?: Pilots are instructed to avoid overflying the centre of Bishop's Stortford, but the town sits just west-south-west of the runway, so westbound departures, radar vectors and runway 04 arrivals skirt its edges — it generates a large share of the airport's noise complaints. Exposure varies street by street; the map above shows which side of town catches more traffic.
What are Stansted's Noise Preferential Routes?: Departures must follow one of six Noise Preferential Routes — three from each runway end, named Buzad (north), Clacton (east) and Dover (south). Each is a 3 km-wide corridor flown until 3,000–4,000 ft (4,000 ft on all routes during the 11:30 PM – 6 AM night quota period), after which air traffic control can vector aircraft freely. Arrivals have no fixed routes, which is a persistent grievance in villages under the runway 22 approach.
Will the expansion to 51 million passengers mean more noise?: In December 2024 Uttlesford District Council's planning committee approved growth to 51 million passengers a year, with night-noise conditions attached — after refusing the earlier 35-to-43-million application in 2020 and losing on appeal in 2021 with costs. More passengers means more daytime movements over the same villages, but the statutory night caps and a new seasonal night noise-quota limit from summer 2026 constrain how much of that growth can happen overnight.
How do I complain about aircraft noise from Stansted?: Contact London Stansted's Noise Line on 0800 243 788 or use the noise-complaint form at stanstedairport.com — the airport's Noise Communications Team investigates individual flights. Checking the map above first helps identify whether the aircraft over you was a runway 22 arrival, a departure on a Noise Preferential Route, or an off-route vector.

Sources and further reading

Aircraft noise information and policies — noise overview, NPRs and runway use — London Stansted Airport (MAG)
Decision — night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted from October 2025 — UK Department for Transport (GOV.UK)
Investigating aircraft noise — how to complain — London Stansted Airport (MAG)
London Stansted Airport — Wikipedia
Stansted Airport planning application to increase passenger numbers (43M to 51M) — Uttlesford District Council
Uttlesford District Council gives green light to growth to 51 million passengers a year at Stansted Airport — Bishop's Stortford Independent

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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Stansted Flight Path Noise Map – London Stansted Airport (STN)

Aircraft noise around Stansted in October 2026

Does Stansted 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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