There's no doubt about it: Jet engines make noise. This is an ironic understatement well understood by the tens of thousands of people living beneath the air traffic of San Francisco International Airport (SFO), one of the world's 30th busiest.

Though SFO does not control flight paths or schedules, it has endeavored to address the concerns of its neighbors. The airport now arranges for most flights to arrive and depart over San Francisco Bay, has even banned certain larger aircraft altogether, and has an innovative Fly Quiet Progam which grades airlines on their performance. So even though jet engines are loud and annoying, there is a limit to just how noisy areas near the airport can be. Still, becoming involved in helping to create solutions can certainly lessen your feelings of frustration. 

For further information on the airport's long-standing and far-reaching noise reduction programs, visit the Website for the Aircraft Noise Abatement Office. Or call the Noise Complaint Hotline at (650) 821-4736 to lodge a complaint, but keep in mind that their personnel receive over a thousand calls a month.

If you are interested in taking a more active role in reducing aircraft noise, learn how to join the Airport/Community Roundtable, "a public forum established in 1981 for the discussion and implementation of noise mitigation strategies at San Francisco International Airport (SFO)."