There is not, and never has been, a ban on flights operating to and from London Gatwick at any time of the night. However, in order to try to balance the interests of the all local communities and those of the airport users, for instance passengers, freight, time sensitive goods, aircraft emergencies and business, there are stringent restrictions and rules in place governing how the airport manages night time flights.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for defining these restrictions which are based on movements and quota count (QC). QC is a classification based on certified noise levels which allocates a certain amount of points (0-16) to an aircraft – the louder the aircraft, the higher its QC. The loudest aircraft types (QC8, QC16) are prohibited from operating during the night period (23:00 – 07:00) and QC4 aircraft may not be scheduled to operate during this time. During the night quota period between 23:30 and 06:00 the airport may facilitate a set number movements and quota count. The restrictions are divided into summer and winter seasons, which are in turn linked to daylight savings (BST/GMT). London Gatwick has an allowance of 11,200 movements and 5,150 QC in summer, and 3,250 movements and 1,785 QC in winter. These limits are designed to encourage the use of the quietest aircraft types within a limited number of movements.
The Airspace Office proactively monitors and works with airlines to manage their compliance with all Government restrictions and has no authority to alter these restrictions. All reporting is published on our noise website and through GATCOM and NaTMAG.
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