HEATHROW BASICS
- More people (nearly 700,000) are affected by noise from Heathrow than any other airport in Europe. That’s because of its location to the west of London.
- It currently has two runways – north and south. Typically, for 70-75% of the time aircraft take off and land heading west (‘westerly operations’) and 25-30% heading east (‘easterly operations’), though annual average easterly operations have been as low as 19% and as high as 37%. It’s determined by the wind direction.
- We are close to the southern landing flight path to the southern runway. So currently we are most affected by noise from landings. Takeoffs are noisier than landings.
- Unlike Gatwick, which has one runway which it uses for both takeoffs and landings (‘Mixed Mode’), Heathrow does not operate in Mixed Mode most of the time, but – during westerly operations – alternates runways to give people on the ground respite from noise. We benefit from that.
- It can’t currently do alternation during easterly operations because it isn’t set up for routine easterly takeoffs from the northern runway. So they’re all from the southern runway. We can hear some of them, but these are actually over the Teddington area. But we are likely to suffer takeoffs directly overhead from 2028, when Heathrow expect to be able to use the northern runway routinely for easterly takeoffs, enabling alternation.
- The overall number of flights is currently capped at 480,000 a year – a condition set in the planning conditions for Terminal 5.
- If the cap were lifted, Heathrow might be able to increase the number of flights a bit using its current mode of operation, with more flights at quieter times of the day. But it could increase capacity more by moving to Mixed Mode. That would be a big problem for everyone locally as it would mean runway alternation would not be possible – so no respite.
HEATHROW RUNWAY ALTERNATION gives us respite, instead of continuous noise. We mainly hear landings coded 27L (southern runway approaching from the east). The table below gives the dates and times for 2025. The panel on the left explains how it works. (Note that night time alternation in 2025 is affected by (10-yearly) runway resurfacing – click here for details.)
Click here to see the table.
MAKING A COMPLAINT
Click here to make a Noise Complaint to Heathrow.
HEATHROW OPERATIONAL DATA & NOISE REPORTS
Click here for the latest breakdown of monthly and yearly operational statistics.
Click here for reports related to airspace, noise and air transport movement (ATM) performance, annual noise contours, noise monitoring, night flights, noise complaints and other analysis.
Click here for Heathrow’s ‘Fly Quieter and Greener’ page, which includes an airline league table
OTHER PUBLICATIONS:
Heathrow Noise Action Plan 2024-2028
Department for Transport/CAA aviation statistics
Heathrow documents (x140) submitted for northern runway planning permission Nov 2024
Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Evidence Synthesis Report Part One on Carbon Credits (ineffectiveness of)
Government’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate “Essential Guide”
Reuters: The airline industry’s dirty secret: Clean jet fuel failures
Community Noise Information Report: Strawberry Hill House 2015-2016
East Twickenham Heathrow Campaign 