News & Press

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December 20, 2019
The Mercury News
Opinion: Bay Area must combat dangerous effects of airport noise
Read more>>

July 10, 2018
The Almanac
Surf Air flights down by 85 percent, but noisy legal fight continues
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June 22, 2018
The Almanac
Will Surf Air soon stop flying?
Commuter airline facing millions in tax liens and lawsuit
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August 8, 2017
The Mercury News
New fees imposed at two San Mateo County airports
County board adopts $75 landing fee fro charter flights at San Carlos, Half Moon Bay airports
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July 17, 2017
The Almanac
County asks federal transportation department to investigate Surf Air
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May 20, 2017
The Daily Journal
County floats efforts to mitigate airport noise: New flight routes, improved tracking among new measures
Read more >>

April 22, 2017
Efforts to curb San Carlos Airport noise begin: Residents share concerns of county study’s length, accuracy
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August 17, 2016
The Mercury News
Angry Crowd Rips Surf Air at Town Hall Meeting
The pavilion at Atherton’s Holbrook-Palmer Park was filled to overflowing on Tuesday night, as 185 people showed up to talk about noise from Surf Air airplanes flying out of San Carlos Airport
Read More >>

June 23, 2016
Palo Alto Online
Federal Aviation Administration approves Surf Air route to take planes over Bay
Commuter airline company says changes go into effect July 5, 2016
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April 27, 2016
The Mercury News Peninsula
Complaints of airplane noise are being addressed, but remain unresolved
REDWOOD CITY — Residents seeking relief from airplane noise could find solace in the fact that steps are being taken, and more efforts are afoot.
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_29823199/atherton-vice-mayor-tells-county-board-work-is

April 27, 2016
The Almanac
Surf Air tells Supervisors that it will try new flight path to avoid Midpeninsula
Route could be flown only with good visibility
Read more  >>

March 14, 2016
San Mateo County Times
San Carlos: Noisy air travel startup angers residents
Residents who attended a packed hearing Tuesday on noise generated by planes at the small airport said the problem got significantly worse three years ago, right around the time Surf Air, which bills itself as “the nation’s private air travel club,” began flying out of the airport.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29637781/san-carlos:-noisy-air-travel-startup-angers-residents

March 2016
Daily Journal comments on failure of Surf Air and San Carlos airport to mitigate invasive airplane noise
County takes on San Carlos Airport noise: More flights lead to more complaints, board to explore solutions to problem
Read more >>

March 4, 2016
The Almanac
Update: Horsley explains county effort to curb Surf Air noise
County supervisors to hold study session March 8 on San Carlos Airport noise problems
Read the article >>

January 2016
Aviation Environment Federation
Airport Noise and Public Health.  The Evidence is Loud and Clear
The report found correlation between airport noise and the following areas, all of which are considered health effects by the WHO: sleep disturbance, annoyance, impacts on learning in children, cardiovascular diseases.
Read of the effects of aircraft noise on health, sleep, learning and memory. It is published by two British noise groups. Highly recommended!
Aviation Environment Federation report >>

October 14, 2015
Guest Opinion: is the country for corporations or for citizens?
Astute observations from a resident and a call for help from our elected Supervisors against Surf Air
Read the article >>

September 14, 2015
Atherton pushes for action to limit Surf Air
Read the article >>

August 2015
Insider District 4 Newsletter by Warren Slocum
County Supervisor Warren Slocum acknowledges continued problems with Surf Air, meeting with FAA to follow.
http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=766e3ce930&id=b5d78b62fd&e=039c94d684

August 6, 2015
Surf Air Announcements
Surf Air brings the noise with more planes in their “rapidly growing fleet”
According to the Surf Air team “we welcomed the 10th and 11th aircraft into our rapidly growing, brand-new fleet of Pilatus PC-12s. Even better, we’ll take four more by the end of 2015 as we expand into Sacramento and Palm Springs, bringing our schedule to 90 daily flights.”

August 5, 2015
The Almanac
Locals seek meeting with FAA over Surf Air, which added 10 round-trip flights this week
http://www.almanacnews.com/news/2015/08/06/locals-seek-meeting-with-faa-over-surf-air-which-added-20-weekly-flights-this-week

July 31, 2015
Palo Alto Online
Meeting with community groups, public officials seeks short- and long-term remedies. Mostly SFO traffic, Surf Air also discussed. More and more people are tired of airlines’ noise and their failure to cooperate on solutions.
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/print/story/2015/07/31/federal-aviation-administration-to-work-to-reduce-plane-noise

July 15, 2015
Palo Alto Online
Rep. Anna Eshoo to send airplane-noise survey to Federal Aviation Administration
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/07/15/rep-anna-eshoo-to-send-airplane-noise-survey-to-federal-aviation-administration

June 24, 2015
East Bay Express
Superhighways in the Sky
Discussion of FAA and its lack of noise mitigation considerations.  Second half of article discusses noise impacts on National Park Service areas
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/superhighways-in-the-sky/Content?oid=4362226&showFullText=true

April 24, 2015
Mercury News
Atherton: Hearing the noise about more Surf Air flights
No notice from Surf Air?  “it was unavoidable in this case…: Surf Air CEO.  Business as usual for rogue airline.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_27955015/atherton:-hearing-the-noise-about-more-surf-air-flights

April 15, 2015
The Almanac
Surf Air adds 31 flights a week at San Carlos Airport
Local officials working on noise issues said they had no warning of expansion
http://www.almanacnews.com/news/2015/04/14/surf-air-adds-31-flights-a-week-into-san-carlos

March 25, 2015
Los Angeles Times
Santa Monica City Council revises lease terms for airport tenants
The Santa Monica City Council, which has been planning to scale back and eventually close the airport, unanimously approved limits on the length of leases for various parts of the facility.
www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-monica-airport-20150325-story.html

February 15, 2015
Mercury News
Plane lands on Hayward Skywest Golf Course, pilot, golfers OK
When small planes crash, the time required to find a safe landing spot depends on the altitude and speed.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27533281/plane-lands-hayward-skywest-golf-course-pilot-golfers

February 13, 2015
Palo Alto Online
City may study airplane noise
Committee proposes spending up to $30,000 to gauge noise, recommend alternative flight paths
“If the proposed route is raised higher (in altitude) everybody wins …”
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/print/story/2015/02/13/city-may-study-airplane-noise

February 9, 2015
Miami Herald
Hamptons Is Getting Loud Over Aircraft Noise
With an unbelievable amount of noise complaints and lack of government funding it looks like the Hampton’s Board is going to be taking a vote soon on extreme noise abatement measures.
The town’s proposed changes include a year-round 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, and limits on so-called “noisy” aircraft as defined by FAA sound standards.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article9592523.html

December 18,2014
San Mateo County Supervisor Slocum’s letter to Surf Air
“People are complaining that nothing has changed in the past year since the first complaints were brought to the working group’s attention.”
“In closing, it has been more than a year since the establishment of the working group. I am hopeful that a workable solution can be found in the very near future.”
Letter >>

December 18, 2014
SF Gate & Peninsula Press
Peninsula residents irked by Surf Air jet noise overhead homes
http://blog.sfgate.com/inthepeninsula/2014/12/18/surf-air-noise-san-carlos-airport/

http://peninsulapress.com/2014/12/18/surf-air-noise-san-carlos-airport/

October 24, 2014
Palo Alto Weekly
COVER STORY: Unfriendly skies: Residents, city officials gear up to fight increased airplane noise
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/print/story/2014/10/24/unfriendly-skies-residents-city-officials-gear-up-to-fight-increased-airplane-noise

October 24, 2014
Palo Alto Online
Residents have growing concerns over small commuter planes
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2014/10/24/residents-face-growing-concern-over-small-commuter-planes

October 24, 2014
Palo Alto Online
Government officials attempt to influence aircraft regulations
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2014/10/24/government-officials-attempt-to-influence-aircraft-regulations

Article with link to petition to local Congressional representatives on change.org site
http://www.change.org/p/senators-barbara-boxer-and-dianne-feinstein-congresswomen-anna-eshoo-and-jackie-speier-reduce-air-traffic-over-portola-valley-ladera-and-skyline-blvd-communities

Both the Almanac and Palo Alto Weekly recently published articles on our political and legal actions:
http://www.almanacnews.com/news/2014/10/01/locals-sue-faa-over-aircraft-noise

Anna Eshoo joins 25 other congresspeople in the Quiet Skies Caucus
Twenty-four Members of Congress sent a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta urging him to lower the DNL threshold for residential compatibility around airports to 55dB DNL from the current requirement of 65dB DNL.
Eshoo says “The creation of the Quiet Skies Caucus prrovides a forum to advance solutions that abate aircraft noise in our communities. I look forward to working with members of the caucus to address the concerns of residents who are impacted by aircraft noise.” Read the Sept 12, 2014 letter here >>