Noise Management

Toronto Pearson is open 24/7, 365 days a year. Nighttime hours (or restricted hours) at the airport are from 12:30 am to 6:30 am. Typically, only about 3% of our operations occur during the nighttime hours and can be a mix of both cargo and passenger planes.

The airport manages a Night Flight Restriction Program to manage the impact of aircraft noise during restricted hours. Transport Canada has imposed annual limits on the total number of night flights at Toronto Pearson to ensure that flights during the restricted period remain proportionate to overall traffic levels.

During the restricted hours, we use a preferential runway system to fly over the fewest people possible.

Generally speaking, noise levels are going down mainly because aircraft are quieter than they've ever been.

However, our Noise Management Program does have operating restrictions and noise abatement procedures in place to help mitigate noise on the ground.

We also have a Noise Management Action Plan to continuously improve and enhance our Noise Management Program.

 

If you live within the Greater Toronto Area, you may be affected by air traffic. Your experience may depend on weather conditions, runways used, aircraft being used, your proximity to a flight path, and your relative distance from the airport.

Air traffic levels have grown significantly over the past several years. But, planes are getting larger and are carrying more people. This means the number of aircraft are not increasing at the same rate as the number of passengers.