New nighttime noise restrictions at London Luton Airport (LTN) will start June 1 through September 30 and will take place every summer until further notice. Additionally, aircraft with a value greater than Quota Count (QC) 1—meaning those with effective perceived noise levels above 92.9 EPNdB—will not be permitted to operate during the nighttime period (between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. UTC) starting in summer 2019.

The 24-hour airport also will not allow ad hoc movements during the nighttime period, banning general aviation and maintenance flights at night. Series flights will not be allotted night slots during the nighttime period. Revising existing confirmed slots will not be allowed during the day (6 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. UTC) and night. Further, non-emergency diversion flights will not be permitted between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. UTC.

Luton Airport is also taking precautions during the daytime. For example, daytime slots will not be allotted to any aircraft greater than QC1 between 6 a.m. and 9:59 p.m. UTC. The airport will not allow aircraft changes to confirmed slots that involve replacing aircraft with a QC1 or lower value to an aircraft that exceeds QC1 during the day. Additionally, non-emergency diversion flights will not be permitted to land at Luton during this time.

The airport has been monitoring noise levels with its three fixed and four portable noise-monitoring terminals. According to Luton Airport’s website, it aims for a daytime noise level of 82 dB and a nighttime noise level of 80 dB, which are equivalent to a busy residential road. Taking measures such as these new nighttime noise restrictions ensures the noise level will stay at an appropriate scale, it said.