The Major Change At San Francisco's Airport That Frequent Fliers Are Begging To See Everywhere

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It's no surprise that traveling by air can be stressful. You're dealing with traffic, security, delayed flights, and sometimes long treks through the terminal. You may have issues with crowds, sensory overload, and/or a fear of flying as well. All of these things can make you frazzled while you're trying to get yourself relaxed for vacation. Many airports are doing things to lessen travel stress, like adding yoga rooms or having therapy dogs available for anxious travelers to pet. At John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, there's a "wooftop" terrace and playground at the JetBlue terminal to relax in. However, San Francisco Airport (SFO) has tried something different, and it's a major change that fliers seem to really appreciate. SFO instituted a Quiet Airport Policy that was announced in a 2020 press release, though some of the changes started even earlier than that. The policy doesn't mean you can't make noise there or that there is a curfew on late-night flights; instead, it changes the amount of noise that is made in the airport, by the airport. 

The idea is to have less sensory overload from music and announcements that can make it difficult to have a conversation and raise stress levels for some people. In the 2020 announcement, Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said, "With our Quiet Airport program, we're creating something unique and unexpected, by tackling an issue that might be less obvious, but just as impactful to how people feel when they spend time at SFO."

The project began in 2018 as the airport lowered the music and "sound footprints" around stores. In 2019, the public address system was reworked so that everyone in the building doesn't have to hear every single announcement. In fact, gate announcements are only broadcast in the immediate area around the departure gate for the individual flight. The airport estimates a 40% noise reduction and 90 fewer minutes of announcements per day. For stressed-out travelers, children, and individuals with conditions that make a loud sensory environment difficult to deal with, this is great news. It's pretty wonderful for everyone else, as well. One Reddit user on r/unitedairlines says, "I LOVE IT! There are so many ways to get notified (email, text, airline app push notifications) that you don't need loud announcements across the airport." There were quite a number of positive comments supporting the move to a quieter SFO.

However, if you do fly through SFO, you may want to sign up for alerts on your airline's mobile app so you know what's going on, no matter where in the airport you are. You may also want to set an alarm on your phone for a bit before the listed boarding time to ensure you are near the gate. While waiting for more airports to implement noise reduction efforts, there are other ways to find quiet spots in busy airports. You can look into family lounges, designated quiet rooms, or even put on noise-canceling headphones like the AC01 Over-Ear Wired Headphones (which you can also use with your in-flight entertainment system).