Are you affected by overflights? understand what these overflights are and why they are in your area.
The term “overflight” refers to the flight of an aircraft over a particular area. In today’s modern age, overflights can be common in all areas, but they are especially common near airports. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to 3 major airports, including Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK) and the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), as well as many small airports, so overflights are common throughout the region. If you are affected by overflights in your area, it is important to understand what these overflights are and why they are in your area before we can work together to come up with helpful solutions to aircraft noise issues.
What affects your area on a standard weather day?
OAK and SFO Airline Departures at Medium-to-Low Altitudes.
On a standard weather day, OAK departures take off facing north towards Alameda, Bay Farm Island, and Oakland. It is common to see larger jets just off the coast of these cities over the bay and (depending on their destination and when they are cleared by Air Traffic Control to turn) some may turn eastbound and overfly these cities.
In addition, SFO departures heading north or east can commonly fly over these cities as they head toward their destinations.
What about on a non-standard weather day?
OAK and SFO Airline Arrivals at Medium-to-Low Altitudes.
In non-standard weather, when the winds shift to the south or southeast – about 10% of the year, you may find that your area is affected by a very different set of aircraft operations. Aircraft need to land and take off into the wind for safety reasons, which requires a change in aircraft flow at OAK and other nearby airports that may be affected. Often, this change results in a flip of the standard airspace flow. So, instead of being affected by departures, you will be affected by arrivals.
In the case of your area, OAK jet arrivals commonly travel in a precise, straight line over the bay to land facing south. In addition, SFO arrivals that are affected by the non-standard weather may traverse your area as well as they turn south over Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda to line up for landing at SFO.
Want to see more?
View live flight tracks and noise levels using our WebTrak Flight and Noise tracker.
