Although the terms noise and sound can be used interchangeably, noise is used to refer to an unwanted sound, while sound is the generic term used to refer to anything acoustic.

In the case of aircraft noise, the acoustic energy can pass through 500 metres to 10 kilometres (or more) of air to reach local communities. As a result an aircraft can sound very different depending on the distance between the community and the aircraft, be that at flying or on the ground at a nearby airport.

The following video explains how aircraft noise is generated and how the characteristics of sound from aircraft can vary depending on a range of factors, such as the height of the aircraft, the type of aircraft (jet/propeller), its speed and weather:

If you would like to read more about aircraft noise and how we monitor it, you can visit our aircraft noise webpage.