The possibility of less plane noise near the Oakland Airport has finally taken flight, causing irritated residents to take a sigh of relief.
The Citizens’ League for Airport Safety and Serenity, known as CLASS, publicly celebrated a win on Thursday following a five year battle with the Federal Aviation Administration regarding airplane noise disturbances.
After years of dedicated work, the FAA agreed to shift the flight path of airplanes leaving Oakland Airport away from Alameda County and Bay Farm, massively reducing noise pollution for relieved neighbors.
"We've been working with Port of Oakland staff and other community members for years to try to improve the noise situation in our communities, which has been hard to endure since the FAA updated its procedures several years ago," said Matt Pourfarzaneh, president of CLASS, in a press release collected by KCBS Radio.
Airplanes will now fly out over the bay instead of residential areas. "The pilot, once they leave the runway and get to a safe altitude, they make a slight left turn that takes them right out over the bay, thereby reducing the noise level for the community right next to the airport," Ed Downing, former pilot and vice president of CLASS explained to KCBS Radio.
Riding high on the victory, CLASS' next target is to change the nighttime take-offs that disrupt neighborhood sleep. "We're happy to see these changes to daytime departure protocols, but we’re not going to stop our advocacy until we see changes to nighttime protocols as well," Pourfarzaneh said.
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