Many more people bothered by aircraft noise than previously thought

11th June, 2026

Communities have waited 2 years for the publication of a new government study which confirms what we have long known.

The long-awaited Attitudes to Daytime Aircraft Noise Study (ANAS) and the Aviation Night-time Noise Effects (ANNE) study have just been published by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport, on the eve of the publication of the draft Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) which could set the bar for noise policy for years to come.

Together, the studies represent the most significant update to the aviation noise evidence base in over a decade, with the last comparable study, SoNA, being conducted in 2014.

What do ANAS and ANNE tell us about how communities are affected by aircraft noise?

The key finding from ANAS is that the noise level corresponding to 10% of the population being highly annoyed has fallen from 54 dB LA_eq,16h (identified by SoNA) to 43 dB LA_eq,16h. The percentage of people highly annoyed was found to be higher at all levels of noise exposure in the ANAS study, including in areas surveyed for both reports.

The ANNE study tells a similar story, with nighttime aircraft noise causing 10% of people to be highly annoyed at 43dB LA_eq,8h and highly sleep disturbed at 44 dB LA_eq,8h.  At 46 dB LA_eq,8h, the percentage of people highly annoyed doubled, with 20% highly annoyed.

You can read our press release here:

Photo credit: June Andrei George, Unsplash