Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

SFO Runway Noise Response

We noted the two runway noise meetings being held by local activists on June 21st here.  Both meetings went off as planned and offered a lot of information and a plan to hopefully force SFO and its owner, the City of San Francisco, to investigate what has changed for the worse since 2015 –and maybe even do something about it.  One of the things I learned at the meeting are that the noise limits that are in place are purely voluntary by the pilots and there are little if any penalties for not following the guidance.  Some airlines are known to be worse offenders than others.  The standard is more than 40 years old and does not account for high and low frequencies.  Also, back in 2011 the County Grand Jury found that the Airport Roundtable was experiencing "diminishing effectiveness".  Given that the Airport Roundtable is the one body that local politicians and city staff have for interacting officially with airport officials, that "diminishing effectiveness" is of great concern.  It hasn't improved in the last seven years!

The airport has reacted like any bureaucracy would in response to legal inquiries about noise.  In a case mentioned during the meeting, they responded with 118,000 pages of "documentation".  We know from a commenter here at the Voice that certain changes in "engineered arresting materials" have been implemented and may be partially the cause of the nerve-wracking noise that we hear far too often.  Just try to find it in 118,000 pages.

The Plan:  The three women behind SFORunwaynoise.com have come up with a plan of attack based on a similar civil action that took place in B'game decades ago and worked.  By getting many B'game and H'borough people to file small claims against the City of SF, which they will naturally deny, residents can build up enough of a record to go to Small Claims court en masse.  It's worth a try.

In the meantime you can enroll at Flightware.com to see which noisy plane is disrupting your afternoon conversation in the yard or your attempt to get to sleep at 1:30 am.  The list of 1:30 am departures is very enlightening (see below).  Is there any reason why three flights to Taiwan or two to Hong Kong cannot leave at a decent hour?  I can't think of one.  Here's the form to fill out to join the effort–get one by emailing SFOrunwaynoise@gmail.com.

SFO Small Claims form

CAL3

B77W

Taiwan Taoyuan Int'l (TPE)

01:51a PDT

  

05:16a CST

EVA27

B77W

Taiwan Taoyuan Int'l (TPE)

01:46a PDT

  

04:59a CST

CMP383

B738

Tocumen Int'l (PTY)

01:38a PDT

  

10:24a EST

TAI561

A320

El Salvador Int'l (SAL)

01:36a PDT

  

07:59a CST

EVA17

B77W

Taiwan Taoyuan Int'l (TPE)

01:32a PDT

  

04:44a CST

SIA1

B77W

Hong Kong Int'l (HKG)

01:28a PDT

  

05:31a HKT

FJI871

A332

Nadi Int'l (NAN)

01:20a PDT

  

07:01a +12

CPA873

B77W

Hong Kong Int'l (HKG)

01:16a PDT

  

05:47a HKT

UAL2364

B752

Newark Liberty Intl (EWR)

01:12a PDT

  

09:12a EDT

UAL9

B788

Chengdu Shuangliu Int'l (CTU)

01:09a PDT

  

05:18a CST

UAL1197

B738

Houston Bush Int'ctl (IAH)

01:08a PDT

  

06:36a CDT
Posted in

68 responses to “SFO Runway Noise Response”

  1. Charles

    The airport doesn’t make too much noise. It’s easy to tune out the low frequency rumble. Caltrain and the freight trains that pass though in the middle of the night are a much, much bigger problem.
    Train horns accomplish nothing. Trains are already incredibly loud without sounding their horn and we have crossing guards at every intersection. There is no need for the trains to use their horns, ever.

  2. Cassandra

    Airport noise is awful. I can tell tonight will be especially bad.
    Here’s what we do: Get some cute kid to write “ABC 7 Investigates” and say that her parents are crabby due to lack of sleep and her baby brother has dinosaur nightmares due to the 1:30 AM boom and rumble.
    Then have the I-Team interview the kindly CEO of each airline and ask them to schedule their flights no later than 11 PM.
    PR GOLD for everyone.
    Either that or the class action thing.
    PS- I do think a nice letter from our City Council could help.

  3. resident

    This puts to rest the “You bought next to an airport, what did you expect?” argument because I’m sure when I bought there were not dozens of flights leaving after 1 am. This must stop. Where’s the city council, Jerry Hill, Kevin Mullin, Jackie S.???

  4. Ted Yun

    It is ridiculous that the planes are allowed to point their engines at us during all times of the night, and yet, the report that was commissioned by the airport has B’game in one of the low-noise zones, so we are not eligible for the sound-proofing that is offered by the airport.
    I don’t mind the noise so much during the day, but I think the airport should be reasonable and only allow the planes to point their engines over the water during the night time.

  5. Ted Yun

    @Charles — the airport noise and train noise are two separate issues. The airport noise is an issue with the City of San Francisco and the train noise is a City of Burlingame issue. Rather, with the train noise, B’game would have to invest resources to make the city a quiet zone. These are two separate battles.
    There are multiple reasons why B’game doesn’t want to spend the money to make it a quiet zone, namely, only the residents close to the crossings are affected. The other problem is that if the city is converted to a quiet zone, and if an accident does happen the city is concerned about liability claims.
    That being said, the City of Atherton successfully navigated through thes concerns to establish itself as a quiet zone, so we could do the same. All we need is an advocate to fight the battle! You will find support if you choose to fight the fight.

  6. hollyroller

    A friend of mine lived in San Bruno under the SFO flight path.
    After 10 plus years of legal BS ALL the homeowner’s received new roofs, insulation, new windows, new doors-interior and exterior. The entire project took about two days, per home.
    10 plus employees would show up at your home and stay until everything was completed. This happened about 20 years ago. In todays dollars a project like that would cost $200,000.00 per home.
    That seemed like a very fair solution to an important case.
    My problem is with “The Sad.”
    Burlingame Slum Lords.
    People-you know.
    Maybe even you…
    Those poor people “The Sad”. The Prop 13 children who inherited Burlingame Bungalows in the last 20 plus years, and rent 2 bedroom/1 bath 700 square foot “Home “on Rollins Road for $3000.00 – $4500.00 per month.
    Sooner or later,(after a Major Earthquake) that “inflation” is over.
    Maybe then everyone will be more accommodating to each other.

  7. hillsider

    Ignore holyroller’s non sequitur. He cannot help himself.
    Instead of playing the my-irritating-noise is bigger than your irritating noise, Charles should make the case that they are both irritating and TOGETHER are super irritating.

  8. Ted Yun

    Yesterday (July 10) was tolerable. I noticed when I drove by during the day (on the Broadway I-5 overpass) that the planes were all lined up, with their engines pointing south, over the bay.
    How hard is it to make a rule that between 11 pm – 7 am (or whatever the majority considers reasonable for sleeping hours) that the planes have to take off in this manner?
    @holly — I am not sure what your point is. It would be nice if the airport could sound proof the houses. I looked into this possibility, and to be eligible, your house has to be in a noisy zone. They did an extensive mapping of the noise around the airport, and Burlingame was not deemed in the noisy zone, so we are not eligible. However, this report was researched before the noticeable change so I am not sure how it would turn out if they repeated the study.
    I am missing your connection between the airplane noise and your doomsday prediction. Other than the fact that over this past weekend, the airplane noise was so loud, even in the early morning hours, it sounded like an earthquake, with our windows rattling and everything.

  9. BillyGBob

    When it’s really windy out of the northwest, such as on July 10, almost all departures end up using the 28s (engines toward the Bay, then take off towards the San Bruno gap). When this happens at night, it’s great for Hillsborough and Burlingame, but extremely rotten for San Bruno and SSF folks who live under or near the departure path. The trick is to have pilots take a right turn before reaching 101…and this is SFO’s stated preference for when conditions don’t allow take offs on the 10s (towards the southeast). (Due to the dominate winds, take offs on the 10s can’t happen very often.) Despite the airport’s preference though, pilot compliance is voluntary, and my guess is that a pilot bound for Asia with a fully loaded, fully fueled, very heavy aircraft would rather not take off to the northwest, immediately turn right, then eventually turn back left. So, given the remaining choices of taking off directly northwest (and blasting SSF and San Bruno) versus taking off to the northeast and then turning west (and sending run-up noise towards Hillsborough and Burlingame), they choose the latter.

  10. Sally Meakin

    sforunwaynoise.com has much information on it, like why it’s illegal to set curfews for planes, what percentage of planes take off in compliance with SFO’s preferred runways, why some may say that complaining about the noise to sfo is futile, how people have a misconception about the Noise Abatement Program vis a vis who actually receives the insulation, how that choice is made, how it affects property values, how it does NOT solve the issue of people who enjoy being outdoors, how our city councils’ voices are heard at each Roundtable Meeting, how sforunwaynoise.com intends to proceed with the runway noise issue using a more desirable method than getting entwined in a class action suit. And there’s so much more. Please encourage your neighbors who are disturbed by runway noise to visit the website sforunwaynoise.com.

  11. Ted Yun

    No plane noise tonight! Wish it could be like this every night. Thanks for the explanation BillyGBob! Thanks for organizing the effort Sally!

  12. hollyroller

    Dear Hillsider,
    Thank you for explaining me to the BV Community.
    I was hoping to draw you out again.
    Just admit it HS, you love me.

  13. hollyroller

    Did the “Sound Wall on Rollins Road have any effect on the SFO noise?
    Is the placement of that wall a part of the equation as to who qualifies for noise abatement?
    I believe the San Bruno Program was successful. However, it took many years to put together. Over 10 years at least
    Good Luck All.

  14. Ted Yun

    @holly — re: the wall on Rollins
    I am not sure that wall is supposed to be part of the SFO Noise Abatement program. I always assumed that it was to separate the residential area from a major freeway. The wall is on both sides of the freeway, ie., it doesn’t serve any purpose to suppress the airport noise on the east side, yet it is still there. So I always assumed it was for safety. We have similar walls in San Diego (where I’m from).
    I wish we had the availability of the Noise Abatement program that San Bruno has.

  15. hollyroller

    If you look for the San Bruno Project you will find it.

  16. resident

    I think we need a meteorologist to help us understand what is going on at SFO. After several peaceful days and nights the noise is back. I noticed it start at 1:18 am last night and is still bad this morning.

  17. Cassandra

    Wow. 6 big booming take-offs between 1:15 and 2 am. Plus a train.
    Some candidate for council could make a name for themselves by getting “7 Investigates” going on the damage this nightly tohubohu does to the community…

  18. michael

    Wow, just moved here recently, the SFO airplane noise is unbearable. I downloaded decible X on Apple store, and found out that the noise level can reach 85-90 on q quiet street.
    Did anyone tried this?
    https://www.flysfo.com/replacement-and-second-chance-noise-insulation-initiative

  19. michael

    Does US have a guideline for noise level at night?
    here is the policy in Europe
    http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/noise/policy/who-night-noise-guidelines-for-europe
    noise limits and country action
    WHO/Europe’s guidelines for night noise, published in 2009, provide governments with stronger justifications for regulating exposure to night noise and clear guidance on desirable limits.
    According to these guidelines, annual average night exposure should not exceed 40 decibels (dB), corresponding to the sound from a quiet street in a residential area. Persons exposed to higher levels over the year can suffer mild health effects, such as sleep disturbance and insomnia. Long-term average exposure to levels above 55 dB, similar to the noise from a busy street, can trigger elevated blood pressure and heart attacks.
    By recommending that countries introduce limits on night noise, the guidelines complement the 2002 European Union Directive on Environmental Noise, which requires countries to map hotspots and reduce exposure, but does not set limit values.
    The European Commission (EC) was a key partner and funded the project to develop the guidelines through its Directorate-General for Health and Consumers.

  20. michael

    Here is the California utility concern for night noise
    http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/aspen/cresseygallo/fmnd/5-12_noise.pdf
    Areas with full-time human occupation and residency are often considered incompatible with substantial nighttime noise because of the likelihood of disrupting sleep.
    Noise levels above 45 dBA at night can result in the onset of sleep interference. At 70 dBA, sleep interference effects become considerable(EPA, 1974).

  21. michael

    California police code
    https://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/EHSdocs/ehsNoise/GuidelinesNoiseEnforcement.pdf
    Section 2909 (d),
    Fixed Residential Interior Noise
    Limits This section sets the maximum allowable interior noise within a dwelling unit. The standards in Section 2909(d), 45 dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and 55 dBA between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00p.m, are the absolute maximum allowable level of interior noise, produced from any combination of mechanical device(s) and audio systems(s) under one ownership/use originating from outside the dwelling unit. The standards in this section may not apply to areas in which the ambient noise level exceeds the limits. However, ambient noise measurements may not be necessary when applying this section and the individual inspector may solely determine if the source in question is the dominant noise source

  22. michael

    city of Berkeley
    https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Home/CONDITIONS,_TRENDS___ISSUESEnvironmental_Quality__Noise.aspx
    Interior residential standards for multi-family dwellings are set by the State of California at 45 dB CNEL

  23. Bruce Dickinson

    What is the noise level from inside the house with all windows closed when you hear airplane takeoff noises? Surely it’s not 90 dB.
    Don’t forget, Bruce Dickinson is a sound expert!

  24. liarliar

    Unbearable? Hahaha.

  25. resident

    So I should have to keep my windows closed because of late night Asian flights? We live in a nearly perfect climate with the windows open. I find that sometimes the indoor noise with echo or whatever seems louder than the outdoor noise.

  26. Cassandra

    Rattles my closet and front doors.

  27. Joe

    @michael, welcome to the Voice–you look like you will fit right in. Your posts reminded me to remind everyone about the next SFO Runway Noise meetings:
    Thursday, August 30, 2018
    at the Burlingame Public Library
    11 AM (upstairs) & 7 PM in the Lane Room
    The meetings’ purpose is to fill out the small claims forms together, introduce newcomers to our goals, and to bring in neighbors, friends, and family members who are also disturbed by the runway noise. RSVP to sforunwaynoise@gmail.com whether you’ll be attending the AM or the PM meeting.

  28. Cassandra

    Great news- Thanks!

  29. Joe

    Well, well, well….out of the blue a one question survey from Jackie Speier has just arrived in e-mail:
    Please let me know if you’ve been impacted by increased airport noise at night.
    ( )Yes
    ( )No
    ( )I don’t know
    ( )I would like a town hall meeting on this issue
    ——————-
    Not sure we need a town hall meeting–we just need her to crack down on SFO night time departures!

  30. crystal

    @ Joe. Thanks for reminding us the meeting. I will attend meeting at 7pm. We must voice up.

  31. Jennifer

    If SFO did not change for airplane at night time, we need to go to court with lawyer to sue.

  32. Cassandra

    Airplanes booming again last night 1-2am.

  33. Cassandra

    Again this am, 1-2

  34. Cassandra

    11:48am and 12:10 am- doors rattling in my house. In.

  35. mike

    It is getting crazy, the noise become much louder.

  36. mike

    http://www.skypossepaloalto.org/advocacy-2/complain/

  37. mike

    sfo.noise@flysfo.com
    Please hear people complains from all the citys

  38. mike

    SFO Noise Complaints
    SFO Noise Complaint Hotline: 650.821.4736
    SFO Toll Free Noise Complaint Hotline: 877.206.8290
    SFO Noise Complaint Email: sfo.noise@flysfo.com
    Bert Ganoung is Manager, Aircraft Noise Abatement

  39. mike

    https://eshoo.house.gov/constituent-services/airplane-noise-in-the-18th-congressional-district/

  40. Joe

    Here is an update from the team at SFOrunwaynoise.com:
    Thank you to those of you who were able to join us at the Burlingame City Council meeting on Tuesday evening. We had a great turn out! You can quickly access the video of the meeting to hear the folks that spoke out on Runway Noise and the City Council’s response by going to (Burlingame.org) > City Council Meetings – Welcome to Burlingame, California. Click on +2018 and then the link for the video for 9/4/18. The discussion is under the Public Comments, which you can jump to directly. (JB: if you care to watch me address the Council, I’m second on the tape after Lynn).
    Next steps –
    Join us at the SFO Roundtable Meeting on Wednesday October 3rd at 7pm at the David Chetcuti Community Room of Millbrae City Hallat 450 Poplar Ave. Many residents of other towns have complained about flight pattern changes, but very few have spoken about back blast noise. This is our chance, as the ground noise we are experiencing will be on the agenda this evening. Again, anyone can speak to the Roundtable after filling in a card. The more people who attend, the better of a chance we have to influence legislators and the airport director. See below for a map.
    Please register (it’s free) for Jackie Speier’s Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday October 23rd at 7pm. Jackie is a resident of Hillsborough and is aware of the increase in SFO noise that we are all experiencing. She is sympathetic and interested in helping us find a solution. She will be holding a very important Town Hall meeting at Skyline College about airport noise where we as individuals will be able to speak en masse about this issue. Representatives of the airport and various airlines will be present. It will be an excellent opportunity to pressure SFO to study this issue and come up with solutions quickly. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/town-hall-airplane-noise-tickets-49103958261

  41. Cassandra

    Between 1-2am
    4 back blasts from SFO.
    1 freight train ( but only 3 tiny toots- thanks engineer!)

  42. Cassandra

    10:30 to 3am. Thundering.

  43. Hal

    In Mills Estate neighborhood of Burlingame, you will hear plane noises nonstop from 5:45am until 2am. After 10pm, the planes taking off from SFO are annoying loud, even with every window shut. In the early morning, not only do we have to put up with early morning departures from SFO, but in the past 9 months，all southbound planes from Oakland airport fly over our homes. In the mornings, it is about 1 minutes apart for every flight. Even though the planes are at 9000 ft, the noise can be very disruptive. I am joining other residents in filing small claims suits against San Francisco and I think we need to sue Oakland airport as well to bring about changes. I have been a Burlingame resident for 10 years and things have gotten very bad in the last 2 years.

  44. Joe

    Here is some news from SFO via the SFORunwayNoise.com team:
    Fortuitously, SFO has announced that they will be doing maintenance work on an intersection of two runways this weekend. They will be shutting down Runway 1R late tonight/this Saturday morning from 1am to 6am Sunday morning to do this.
    It could be very interesting to see how this temporary change affects the back blast noise that we hear in our neighborhoods. We may have a peaceful 29 hours, hearing only crickets and birdsong!
    Could all of you please pay particular attention to how much noise you hear this Saturday compared to normal and drop us an email letting us know at sforunwaynoise.com? This could be a helpful piece of data that may demonstrate that Runway 1R, with plane engines pointing directly at us, is (or is not) a major cause of the noise for us.
    See SFO’s press release on this scheduled maintenance at https://www.flysfo.com/flight-info/alerts-advisories/intersection-runways-28l-and-1r-will-be-closed-sept-29-30-maintenance
    —————————-
    From the south end of town, last night was Nice And Quiet!!!

  45. hollyroller@gmail.com

    Lets all get in our heads that living in the Noise Zone is going to be a fact of life, living on “The Eastside,” is and will be a Life Style.
    Noise may be the least of concerns considered living near a Huge Freeway.
    As well as the effect Air Quality has on BHS students.
    FYI:
    Does anyone know that there is a HUGE Fuel Pipeline buried along Rollins Road transporting Jet Fuel between San Jose, and SFO.
    The Sound Wall was built to “Minimize” Liability” incase of Earthquake/Plane Wreck. Not so much to decrease SFO/Freeway Noise.
    What will happen in an Earthquake?

  46. Jo

    Here is the wHO research about noise
    Medical conditions
    Noise level at 50 Db
    Insomnia * * Hypertension
    Obesity * * Depression (in women) * *
    Myocardial infarction
    Reduction in life expectancy (premature mortality) * *
    Noise Level at 60 Db
    Psychic disorders
    (Occupational) accidents * *
    SEC. 2909. NOISE LIMITS.
    (a) Residential Property Noise Limits.
    (1) No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine, or device, music or entertainment or any combination of same, on residential property over which the person has ownership or control, a noise level more than five dBA above the ambient at any point outside of the property plane.
    (2) No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine, or device, music or entertainment or any combination of same, on multi-unit residential property over which the person has ownership or control, a noise level more than five dBA above the local ambient three feet from any wall, floor, or ceiling inside any dwelling unit on the same property, when the windows and doors of the dwelling unit are closed, except within the dwelling unit in which the noise source or sources may be located.
    (b) Commercial And Industrial Property Noise Limits. No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine, or device, music or entertainment or any combination of same, on commercial or industrial property over which the person has ownership or control, a noise level more than eight dBA above the local ambient at any point outside of the property plane. With respect to noise generated from a licensed Place of Entertainment, licensed Limited Live Performance Locale, or other location subject to regulation by the Entertainment Commission or its Director, in addition to the above dBA criteria a secondary low frequency dBC criteria shall apply to the definition above. No noise or music associated with a licensed Place of Entertainment, licensed Limited Live Performance Locale, or other location subject to regulation by the Entertainment Commission or its Director, shall exceed the low frequency ambient noise level defined in Section 2901(f) by more than 8 dBC.
    (c) Public Property Noise Limits. No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine or device, or any combination of same, on public property, a noise level more than ten dBA above the local ambient at a distance of twenty-five feet or more, unless the machine or device is being operated to serve or maintain the property or as otherwise provided in this Article.
    (d) Fixed Residential Interior Noise Limits. In order to prevent sleep disturbance, protect public health and prevent the acoustical environment from progressive deterioration due to the increasing use and influence of mechanical equipment, no fixed noise source may cause the noise level measured inside any sleeping or living room in any dwelling unit located on residential property to exceed 45 dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or 55 dBA between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00p.m. with windows open except where building ventilation is achieved through mechanical systems that allow windows to remain closed.
    (e) Noise Caused By Activities Subject To Permits From the City and County of San Francisco. None of the noise limits set forth in this Section apply to activity for which the City and County of San Francisco has issued a permit that contains noise limit provisions that are different from those set forth in this Article.
    What San Francisco City can do to restrict SFO noise level and FAA?
    FAA did not follow proper research work procedures and waste tax payer money and caused a lot of noise complains from bay area residents, we don’t want to see next nextgen plan again.

  47. Steve Kassel

    The hand wringing over airport noise when you live in the southern part of San Francisco or south to Burlingame is comical. You see, there is this large airport that sits on land owned by the City and County of San Francisco that sits between South San Francisco and Millbrae. There are an ever growing number of huge metal cylinders with large engines that leave and land at the large airport every day. Many take off towards the northwest and west and make a significant amount of noise when they do.
    That airport is THE biggest generator of jobs in the region by far. Whether it’s conventions, hotels, restaurants, rental cars, and biotech, high tech, whatever people primarily get here from all over the world using that airport and to a lesser extent those using the airports in San Jose and Oakland.
    Have to call your attention to the insanity that is NextDoor. I call NextDoor BitchFest because primarily that’s what it is. More so than any other social media site, NextDoor attracts a significantly older crowd with a tremendous NIMBY factor.
    This was a recent post:
    Today I stay at home in day time. Although I have double pane windows I heard airplanes fly once per about 3 minutes. That’s terrible. Also my backyard smells like hospital or somebody put cleaning chemicals. I wonder how people here live with this. There was a lawsuit against SFO years ago but now the planes are even more frequently and lower. I wonder what I can do about this? I definitely think those planes also dropped something. That is why my backyard smells like a hospital
    The ensuing responses included these gems:
    “Maybe we should start a “petition” to move the airport”
    “People in “Another town in San Mateo county” are more noble! They swam upstream and won over the airport big business. People here are cheap, mean and coward. No wonder the planes all fly over here. Ouch!”
    “People here are more cheap. Lives here are not worthy and with slaves nature.”
    and finally…..
    I have an idea on the route. It is San Francisco not San Mateo airport. The planes should fly along 101 or 280 then those industrial or commercial area. Those industrial or commercial areas have all the money for triple panes. Just not low scraping above residential areas! I already have double pane just could not afford triple pane because they won’t fit the frames and would cost much much more probably triple.

  48. Joe

    Steve, I can’t speak to the postings in NextDoor. I seldom read them and from what I hear, your assessment is pretty accurate.
    The point about SFO Runway (emphasis on “runway” not overflight) noise is that SOMETHING has changed over the last 3-4 years. It is worse that it was the prior 20+ years that I have been here. I don’t know if it is the runway surface, the “improvements” for arresting runaway planes, the new baffles or just some operational changes or just some undisciplined pilots not following procedures and getting away with it, but something has changed. Maybe multiple things.
    This is a legit complaint and one that we can and will exercise our political leverage to fix. Jackie Speier’s Oct. 23rd meeting at 7pm at Skyline is the next step in doing just that. If you are lucky enough not to be bothered or awakened at 3am, consider yourself lucky.

  49. Steve Kassel

    It’s a 24 hour international airport and is the 7th busiest in the country. The number of flights per day is up significantly and there are definitely more late night flights. Total passengers in 2017 was over 55,000,000.
    If you look back over the past 20 years official statistics, while the figures tend to wax and wane due to September 11 and the state of the economy; flights tend to increase around 5% a year. Many of those have to be pushed to late night because those the are only available times.

  50. Joe

    It doesn’t have to be a 24 hour airport. Here is Tokyo/Narita’s policy:
    CHIBA – The city of Narita will allow flights until midnight at its curfew-bound international airport in times of poor weather and other exceptional circumstances, in a bid to boost the competitiveness of the nation’s main gateway.
    No flights are currently allowed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. due to noise concerns. The city is opposing a request by the transport ministry and the airport operator to open the airport at 5 a.m.
    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/21/national/city-to-allow-narita-flights-until-midnight-as-exception/#.W70TwGhKg54

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