Planes, Pain and Property - the hidden opportunity for the real estate industry

As global air travel prepares for record-breaking growth—with passenger numbers forecast to double by 2040—aircraft noise is becoming an increasingly pressing, yet largely unquantified, concern for homeowners. While the aviation sector eyes expansion with dozens of new runways proposed across Europe and North America, those living in the shadows of airport infrastructure face a far less optimistic trajectory. Property values, quality of life, and even long-term health are being compromised, but the market has yet to develop a clear way to measure or mitigate this impact.

Despite growing public awareness around environmental costs—carbon emissions, pollution, and biodiversity loss—the sonic footprint of aviation is often overlooked. The phrase ‘flight blight’ is gaining traction among residents and campaigners alike, describing the persistent disturbance caused by overhead traffic. This noise, which can reach levels exceeding 70 decibels, has been linked to sleep disruption, cardiovascular stress, and cognitive impacts in children. Yet, when it comes to assessing the market impact of properties affected by aircraft noise, there remains a lack of transparency.

Increasingly, home-buyers are finding that despite being up to 50 miles away from an airport, they can see significant volumes of low flying aircraft disrupting their lives.

Before My Flight Path, there was no standardised service or tool that offered a noise impact score for homes located near flightpaths. This absence left buyers and investors at a disadvantage, with limited access to data that could materially affect a property’s desirability or future appreciation. Real estate platforms and valuation tools factor in crime rates, school performance, and transport links—but not decibel levels or proximity to new air corridors.

The expansion of airports such as London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Los Angeles International only underscores the urgency of this gap. As airlines add capacity and air traffic increases, the affected zones will only widen.

There is a growing opportunity—and responsibility—for proptech and real estate data firms to respond. Much like energy efficiency ratings or flood risk indexes, an aircraft noise impact metric is a valuable addition to property listings. Until then, the hidden toll of flight blight will continue to go unmeasured, even as it climbs ever higher above our heads.

My Flight Path is used by real estate professionals across surveying, valuation and consultancy sectors as a zero-cost, incremental revenue solution to provide an innovative solution to the growing problem of aviation activity.

My Flight Path: the first service to give real estate professionals and house buyers around the world a comprehensive overview of the aircraft activity overhead

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