notice anything unusual occurring at or around the airport?
From time to time you may notice unusual or anomalous operations occurring at or around the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) – either on the ground or in the air. Most of the time, deviations from normal air traffic procedures are performed for safety reasons, but sometimes there may be something else going on.
Changes to the Operational Flow due to Weather
An airport’s operational flow pattern determines which set of arrival and departure procedures are available for use at any given time.
When the weather and wind direction in the Bay Area change, the airspace flow at OAK might change along with it. Though the wind does not change often at OAK, about 10% of the time it blows from the Southeast and forces OAK to follow a new airspace flow called the Southeast Plan.
Go-Arounds or Missed Approaches
If the pilots or air traffic control (ATC) are not completely satisfied that the aircraft is positioned and configured for a safe landing a go-around is initiated.
A go-around is a safe and standard aircraft procedure that may be executed at any stage of the approach. It simply discontinues an approach to landing to ensure passengers and aircraft are not placed in potentially dangerous situations.
If the aircraft is directed to go around (either by the pilot or ATC) instead of land, it will perform a circular route that allows it to be placed back into a suitable spot in the arrival sequence. This circular route may result in aircraft overflying areas that aren’t typically overflown and potentially at a lower height when compared to typical arriving aircraft.
Military Flights
On occasion, military aircraft may use the airport to refuel or potentially as a staging post for a demonstration or aerial display.
Military operations like the Blue Angels are often stationed at OAK during the San Francisco Bay Area’s Fleet Week. Military aircraft, in particular fighter jets, are not designed with any noise-reducing features so their noise profile is particularly loud.
We will announce planned upcoming military demonstrations and notify the public of a potential noise increase. Register for OAK community advisories to stay up to date on upcoming events.
Want to see more?
View live flight tracks and noise levels using our WebTrak Flight and Noise tracker.
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