Why are planes flying over my house at night?

Overnight cargo

The biggest reason is packages. Overnight delivery works because the freight flies while you sleep. Planes collect parcels in the evening, fly them to a central hub, everything is sorted in the middle of the night, and the planes fly back out before dawn.

• FedEx runs its main hub in Memphis.
• UPS runs Worldport in Louisville.
• DHL runs major hubs at Cincinnati (CVG) in the US, Leipzig/Halle in Germany and East Midlands in the UK.

Freighters leave hundreds of cities each evening to reach those hubs, so you don’t need to live near one to hear them. The usual night freighters are big twins and the odd four-engine jet: the 777 Freighter, 767 Freighter, 757 and 747-8F.

Red-eye flights

Passenger flights run late too. Red-eyes leave late in the evening and land early in the morning, most often across long distances: the US west coast to the east coast, or long-haul flights timed to arrive at the start of the business day. Early-morning departures and late arrivals stretch the airline day into the night at both ends.

Helicopters that work all night

Medical helicopters fly at any hour, and a hospital helipad near you means flights whenever a patient needs one. Air ambulances like the H135 are common. Police helicopters, often something like an AStar, are busiest at night, and they tend to circle. Why a helicopter hovers over one spot.

Military night training

Military crews have to be able to fly in the dark, so they train in it, often with night-vision goggles. Helicopters and transports near a base can fly late into the evening, and some keep their lights dim or off. Why military helicopters fly over houses.

Curfews and night restrictions

Some airports limit or ban night flights. A few examples:

• Sydney: a curfew from 11pm to 6am, with narrow exceptions for emergencies, some small and quieter aircraft, and freight.
• Frankfurt: no scheduled takeoffs or landings between 11pm and 5am, after a 2012 court ruling.
• London Heathrow: a strict quota on flights between 11:30pm and 6am. The first scheduled arrivals land from around 4:30am, which is why early risers in west London hear jets before dawn.
• John Wayne Airport (Orange County, California): no commercial departures between 10pm and 7am (8am on Sundays).

Curfews like John Wayne’s are rare in the US. A 1990 federal law, the Airport Noise and Capacity Act, made it very hard for airports to add new restrictions, so most US airports are open around the clock. Cargo hubs depend on that.

Why it sounds louder at night

• It’s quieter: with less traffic and fewer people around, a jet stands out against the background.
• Temperature inversions: on clear, calm nights the ground cools faster than the air above it. That layer bends sound back down toward the ground instead of letting it escape upward, so noise carries further and arrives louder.
• You’re listening: one plane at 3am gets noticed in a way twenty in the afternoon don’t.

Wind changes can also move the flight paths onto your house for a night or two. Why the paths move. If it keeps you up, most large airports run a noise office that publishes night flight rules and takes complaints.