Airport noise insulation schemes: who qualifies and how to apply

An airport noise insulation scheme pays for better windows, doors, ventilation or loft insulation in homes the airport accepts are most affected by its planes. The offers range from a small grant to the full cost of the work, and the rules on who qualifies are strict. This guide explains how the schemes work, what the main ones offer and how to apply.

How insulation schemes work

Most schemes start with a noise contour: a line on a map around the airport, inside which average aircraft noise is calculated to be above a set level. Homes inside the line can apply; homes outside it cannot, however loud the planes sound. The Dutch government's page for the Schiphol scheme says it plainly: your neighbour's house can qualify when yours does not, because the contour boundary decides.

The level and the way it is measured differ by country:

• UK: day contours in LAeq,16h (07:00 to 23:00), sometimes with a night contour in LAeq,8h. Under the Aviation Policy Framework of 2013, which still sets the government's expectations, airports are expected to help with the cost of moving at 69 dB LAeq,16h or more, and to insulate schools, hospitals and similar buildings at 63 dB. For homes, it asks airports to consider grants, and to offer them where a development raises noise by 3 dB or more to 63 dB or above. Several airports, including Gatwick, go further.
• Europe: usually Lden, a 24-hour average with evening and night noise weighted up, or a separate day and night level set in national law.
• US: the FAA's day-night average, DNL, with 65 dB as the usual line.

Most schemes also have conditions about the home itself: when it was built, what kind of building it is, and whether it has had a grant before.

What schemes pay for

• Windows and doors: replacement acoustic double glazing or secondary glazing, and external doors.
• Ventilation: acoustic ventilators or mechanical ventilation, so you can keep the windows shut, even in summer.
• Lofts and ceilings: acoustic quilt in the roof space and better ceilings, because planes overhead push noise in from above.
• Help with moving: for the few homes in the loudest areas, a contribution to the cost of selling and moving.

Conservatories, garages and outbuildings are often excluded. Some schemes pay the whole cost; others pay a fixed grant or a share, and you pay the rest.

Examples in the UK, Europe and the US

A few details behind the table:

• Gatwick's northern runway was approved in September 2025, and the last legal challenge was rejected in August 2026. In its response to the government before the decision, Gatwick offered full insulation with no cap for homes at 60 dB and above, and tiered payments for homes between 54 and 60 dB. Check Gatwick's noise pages for when that scheme opens.
• Frankfurt shows why deadlines matter. Germany gives owners inside the zones a legal right to reimbursement, and Fraport says about 24,400 households received it. The day zone starts at 60 dB(A) from 06:00 to 22:00, the night zone at 50 dB(A) from 22:00 to 06:00 or six events a night above 53 dB(A) indoors. But the zones took effect in October 2011, and claims closed on 12 October 2021.
• In the US, homes built after 1 October 1998 inside a 65 dB contour that had already been published do not qualify. At Seattle-Tacoma, for example, homes must also have been built before September 1987 (December 1986 in Des Moines), and owners sign an avigation easement.

Owners, landlords and tenants

Insulation changes the building, so the owner has to agree.

• Heathrow asks landlords and tenants to get in touch. A tenant can tell Heathrow they have passed the details to the landlord, and Heathrow will contact the landlord directly.
• Manchester needs the landlord's written permission for work in a rented home.
• Gatwick's proposed northern runway scheme accepts applications from tenants but needs the owner's consent before any work.
• In Germany the legal claim is the owner's, and at Schiphol the government agrees the measures with the owner.
• In the US, airports such as Seattle-Tacoma accept owner- or tenant-occupied homes, but the owner signs the agreements.

If you rent, raise it with your landlord early: it improves their property, often at little or no cost to them. Our guide to renting under a flight path covers what else to ask.

How to check whether you qualify

1. Use the airport's checker or map. Heathrow has a postcode checker, Gatwick and Stansted publish scheme maps, and Schiphol's scheme lists every eligible address. Manchester's administrator, Thomasons, will check an address.
2. Look for a letter. Heathrow says that if it has written to you, your home is likely to qualify. At Schiphol, the government writes to eligible addresses.
3. Check the conditions. Build dates, building types and excluded rooms rule out some homes inside the line.
4. Find out what was done before. Heathrow's current scheme is open to homes helped by earlier ones; Schiphol's is only for homes that were not insulated before. If you are buying, ask the seller whether the house has had a grant; it tells you the house is inside a contour. Our guide to checking aircraft noise before buying a house covers the other questions.

How to apply

Heathrow's process shows how a full-cost scheme works:

1. Register online, by phone or by email.
2. Survey: a surveyor visits for free and writes a report on the work the scheme will fund.
3. Agree: the contractor surveys in detail, and you sign a consent form for the agreed work.
4. Schedule: the work is booked for your area.

Grant schemes work differently. At Manchester you can use the airport's preferred installer and pay your 20% share up front, or use your own installer to the administrator's specification and be reimbursed after an inspection. In the US, airports test the noise inside before and after the work.

Watch the time limits. Heathrow asks you to reply within a set time once it contacts you, or you go on a "no response" list. Stansted takes applications only from April to October. Listed buildings can qualify at Heathrow, but you pay for any planning permission.

Why the line can feel unfair

Contours are drawn from averages over a year or a summer, sometimes forecast years ahead. An average hides how noise arrives: a street that hears 100 loud planes on some days and none on others can have the same average as one that hears 50 every day.

The levels are also well above where many people are bothered. A 2023–24 survey for the Civil Aviation Authority found one person in ten highly annoyed at about 43 dB LAeq,16h. Gatwick's current scheme starts at 60 dB on the same measure, and the 63 dB in government policy is higher still.

If you are just outside the line

Boundaries move. Heathrow will review its boundary at least every five years, Schiphol's was extended in 2026, and US programmes follow updated noise maps. Government policy asks airports to review their schemes when they plan to grow, which is why Gatwick's is getting bigger, and Heathrow's draft expansion policy proposes insulation for the homes most affected; our Heathrow page has the latest.

Until then, you can do much of the same work yourself: our guide to soundproofing against aircraft noise covers what helps most for the money. Insulation is not the same as compensation for noise; our guide to aircraft noise compensation covers when that is paid.