Happy New Year! We’re excited to announce that the Friendly Approach Program, our way to inform and receive feedback from the community about aircraft noise management efforts, has a new website. FlySMCFriendly.com also allows County of San Mateo Airports staff to engage with pilots about how they can minimize aircraft noise in neighborhoods near San Carlos and Half Moon Bay airports while also highlighting important contributions of SQL and HAF in the Bay Area.
On our new Friendly Approach website, you’ll find informational videos for pilots and the public, noise comment statistics and reports, frequently asked questions, a portal to an online noise comment form, and the airport’s noise comment hotline. The site also shares stories, via our community newsletter, about those who benefit from the airports’ operations—including through flight training and other aviation careers, public safety response—and the on-airport events and activities open to the community.
“We are proud of the San Carlos and Half Moon Bay airports’ contributions to our Bay Area communities and economy, but we also recognize that people perceive aircraft movement and noise in a variety of ways,” said Interim Deputy Director of Public Works Gretchen Kelly.
“The Friendly Approach Program is a welcoming community resource which, via the FlySMCFriendly.com website, explains the airports’ operations, developments, activities, and reasons for specific aircraft flights, while also providing a forum for our bayside and coastal residents to share their positive and constructive feedback,” Kelly continued.
SQL and HAF, both general aviation reliever airports, serve the bayside and coastal communities, respectively. They allow commercial-service airports, including San Francisco International, to prioritize airline service. The FlySMCFriendly.com website explains the important role the airports play in the Bay Area and the essential business functions and services the airports and their partners deliver to residents and businesses. The overall program goal for the County of San Mateo Airports is to be a good regional partner. Learn more at FlySMCFriendly.com.
