Last year, in late September, I noted in a letter to the editor, that people residing in Peninsula communities had filed 98,749 aircraft safety and noise complaints with the San Mateo County Airports department. While the complaints involved various types of aircraft, including the turboprop planes generally flown by multi-passenger airline companies, and smaller aircraft generally flown by private aviation enthusiasts and others, the increasing number of complaints seemed to coincide with the growing number of multi-passenger planes flying from San Carlos Airport over neighborhoods along the Peninsula.
That’s what I noted, at the time, last year.
And now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that for several months significantly reduced air traffic at major commercial airports like SFO, you would think far fewer complaints involving air traffic at a small, general aviation airport, like San Carlos Airport, would be filed. But, surprisingly, the number of complaints filed, daily, since California instituted shelter-in-place policies around mid-March, has totaled, on average, 20 complaints per day — 613 complaints per month — for a total of 1,840 complaints in approximately three months. As of June 12, 2020, 104, 613 complaints had been filed.
Even as sheltering-in-place and other pandemic-related policies have been in place, surprisingly, there’s enough going on over Peninsula communities to cause ongoing concerns about aircraft safety and noise.
Try going out for a calming hike at Bair Island to get away from the stresses of dealing with the pandemic. Those turboprops flying in to San Carlos Airport shatter the peace and quiet we need during these trying times.
Possibly there are more complaints because more people are at home due to SIP and they notice things that they usually don't. If they leave for work at 7AM and get back at 7PM work in San Ramon or San Jose they wouldn't notice what happens here.
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(2) comments
Try going out for a calming hike at Bair Island to get away from the stresses of dealing with the pandemic. Those turboprops flying in to San Carlos Airport shatter the peace and quiet we need during these trying times.
Possibly there are more complaints because more people are at home due to SIP and they notice things that they usually don't. If they leave for work at 7AM and get back at 7PM work in San Ramon or San Jose they wouldn't notice what happens here.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.