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-High Altitudes.
On a standard weather day, OAK Airline departures take off over the bay facing the north, then eventually are directed to turn toward their destinations when approved by an Air Traffic Controller. SFO aircraft can also take off towards the bay in standard weather and are similarly directed as the OAK departures. It is common to see OAK and SFO departures that head south or west to fly over the San Francisco Peninsula and those that head north or east to fly over most of the East Bay area.
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 heading away from the Bay Area, you will likely be affected by arrivals heading into the Bay Area Airports.
Want to see more?
View live flight tracks and noise levels using our WebTrak Flight and Noise tracker.
