Aircraft noise is measured for many reasons - it is important to know whether the noise levels are increasing or decreasing over time, and if so, by how much. We have three fixed noise monitoring stations which are located in our neighboring communities.
Noise is measured by averaging out the noise levels during the day (a 16-hour day) during the summer period and is shown in decibels (dB). This averaging-out means that the day’s high and low levels are averaged out to give a single figure. This averaged decibel measurement is called ‘LAeq’, and it is the most common international measure of aircraft noise.
In the UK, government research indicates that people start being concerned by aircraft noise at 57dB LAeq.
Edinburgh Airport is a 24 hour operational airport. There are currently no restrictions on night flying. Night time is regarded as the period between 23:30 and 06:00.
Further information on how and why we measure noise for both day and night is available on our noise fact sheet (PDF) and in our noise FAQ’s.
To show the different noise levels around the airport we commisioned contour mapping from the CAA. Above is the noise contour map for the area around Edinburgh Airport. The contours are an irregular shape because you get more noise at the ends of the runway where planes take off and land.
