This is what a trial on the Heathrow airport’s flight path aims to find out as they will begin asking pilots to make steeper approaches top reduce the amount of noise they make and its impact on nearby residents.

Living near a busy airport like Heathrow is particularly difficult for anyone who wants to live a quiet life. The airport is currently the 4th busiest in the world and there are no signs that the amount of traffic passing to and from its runways will be reduced in our lifetime.

We are often asked to provide insulation services to residents who live near airports. On solution to reduce noise and possible damage is to ensure roofs and tiles are sealed properly as can be found amongst our case studies.

This trial by the Civil Aviation Authority could be an important step to reducing noise at source. Prevention can often be better than having to find a cure, however it is unlikely that simply have planes come in to land on a steeper trajectory will reduce noise levels by a huge amount.

The international standard for approaches is currently 3 degrees and the new trial will have planes approaching at 3 ½ degrees to see what the effect on noise will be. The trial will continue until March 2016.