Airplane Noise in Mississauga

For home buyers moving to Mississauga from out of town, it’s very important to understand the differences between neighbourhoods, so you can find the right community to live in . Although much of the city may look the same, there are some very distinct communities that may affect your enjoyment of how you want to live.

Quality of schools, income levels and access to transportation are all common points of consideration in the home search but what about factors that aren’t easily thought of? For example, airplane noise is something most buyers don’t even think of when searching for a home, but for some, it can ruin their outdoor experience.

All it takes is looking at a home you’re interested in buying on a day when the airplanes are on a different flight path. If having a quiet backyard is important to you, then you may be unpleasantly surprised when you hear the roar of a jumbo jet flying over your head soon after you move in.

Now before we continue, I want to be clear that this article isn’t about judging the quality of a neighbourhood. In fact, there are some very good neighbourhoods located on the flight path. The point I’m making is that as a buyer you should be armed with all the facts in order to make the right decision for you. Not everything you need to know about a home is written on an MLS listing!

Airplane Noise in Mississauga

Depending on what part of Mississauga you are looking to move to, airplane noise  can be a hindrance to your quality of life. Unlike other undesirable location features such as rail road tracks or power lines, airplane noise can be elusive. Depending on the time of day or how the wind is blowing, you may have clear skies or see a steady stream of planes rumbling down the flight path.

Airplane Noise in Mississauga continues below

As a general rule, the closer you get to the airport in Mississauga, the louder the noise from planes will be. If you go north of Eglinton Ave and East of Mavis Rd in Mississauga to a neighbourhood such as East Credit or Meadowvale Village, you will more than likely see signs warning of airplane noise (such as the image above).

However, if you are further west in areas such as Meadowvale, Lisgar, Churchill Meadows or Central Erin Mills you will not see any signs, because these areas do not fall close enough to be considered high noise areas. To give you an example, in Meadowvale or Erin Mills you won’t hear the planes inside your home however you will hear them in your backyard.

If you’re someone who spends a lot of time in the backyard and don’t like airplane noise, you should ensure you know what areas you are looking at. Below is a Mississauga airplane noise zone map that shows the most heavily travelled flight paths.

The Above map and more information can be found on the Toronto Pearson Airport Web Site

From my experience as a home owner and a Mississauga real estate agent, there are 2 major flight paths to be aware of and they run approximately along Derry Rd in the north and Britannia Rd in the south (purple areas on map). Other factors to keep in mind:

1) I find that landing makes more noise than takeoff because the planes are lower on approach and going much slower. While the noise made by engines on takeoff is louder, by the time a plane gets far enough west (past Streetsville) the planes are usually very high in the air.

2) The Derry Rd corridor is busier than Britannia. According to the 2008 Flight path Movement Chart, if you live along Brittania Rd you should expect to see planes landing every second day while along Derry Rd you should expect planes landing 2 out of every 3 days.

3) While having no airplanes would be ideal, the reality is that home prices in areas along the flight path tend to reflect this fact. For example, homes in Meadowvale are more affordable then areas further south in Mississauga such as Port Credit, Mineola or Lorne Park.

4) As of the summer of 2018, the airport has been conducting a study where they try to rotate weekends for the most busy flight paths. What that meant was every second weekend would be very quiet, which I thought worked very well. I’m not sure what the final decision will be but I liked it.

Ultimately, whether you choose to live in a higher air traffic area comes down to preference. There’s no right or wrong answer, as there are fantastic homes in every area of Mississauga. The best advice I can give anyone looking to buy a home in Mississauga is to do your research, and work with a professional who is an expert in the area so you know what neighbourhoods in Mississauga are affected by airplane noise and don’t get an unpleasant surprise in the future.

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