Community Operations
In which direction do aircraft take off and land?
For safety reasons, the direction of take-off and landing is determined by the speed and direction of the wind. For most of the year the prevailing wind is southerly/westerly, meaning that aircraft take-off to the west over Cheshire and land from the east over Greater Manchester. This is known as ‘Westerly Operations’ and accounts for about 80% of aircraft movements.
When there is a northerly/easterly wind of 5 knots or more, the mode of operation is reversed, meaning that aircraft take-off to the east in the direction of Stockport and land from the west over Cheshire. This is known as ‘Easterly Operations’.
Whenever weather conditions permit, it is our preference for aircraft to depart to the west, because this affects fewer people. This policy has been formalised as part of our Air Traffic Control procedures and in the form of a legally binding planning agreement with the Local Authorities.
Are aircraft allowed to fly at night?
There have been 24-hour operations at Manchester Airport since the 1950’s and in order to minimise the effects of night-time operations, we operate a Night Noise Policy.
Under the terms of the policy certain types of noisier aircraft are restricted, the noise level at which a departing aircraft can be fined is reduced and the overall volume of traffic is constrained.
In addition to these restrictions the second runway is usually closed between 10pm and 6am. During this period we revert to single runway operations, based on the original runway.
How does the airport operate when it uses a single runway?
Between 10pm and 6am, and whenever possible during the day, we revert to single runway operations on Runway 1 (23R/05L) and wind conditions determine the direction of take-off and landing. Runway 2 (23L/05R) is not normally used at night. Read about single runway operations
Between 2215 hours Sunday 6 July 2008 until 0600 hours Friday 11th July 2008 Runway 23R/05L (Runway 1) will be closed for maintenance and Runway 23L/05R will be used instead. More information about the closure.
Where do aircraft fly on departure?
Departing aircraft must follow a Preferred Noise Route (PNR) until they reach a certain height (called a ‘release altitude’), unless otherwise instructed by Air Traffic Control. To minimise disturbance to our local community, we have designed our noise routes to take aircraft away from built up areas wherever possible.
Do arriving aircraft follow preferred noise routes?
No. Most inbound aircraft use the Instrument Landing System (ILS), a navigational aid that guides aircraft on a long and straight approach path to the runway. Usually, aircraft line up on the ILS at between seven and ten nautical miles from the runway. Aircraft descend at an angle of 3 degrees, equivalent to a descent rate of 318 feet for every nautical mile travelled. The ILS system is so accurate that that most aircraft are able to land in poor visibility.
Various routes are taken by aircraft to intercept the ILS because Air Traffic Controllers may need to take account of the differences in speed between successive aircraft, or to integrate them from different holding locations.
Using Fireworks near Manchester Airport
Many fireworks dispense canisters several hundred feet into the air, and when used near an airport there is the possibility that they could be detonated in the path or in close proximity of an aircraft. Fireworks detonated in the flight path of aircraft can cause danger by their unexpected dazzle and visual damage to pilots. For the safety of flight crew and members of the public in the air and on the ground, we have prepared a data sheet.