United, Breeze, DHL and Lufthansa Capture Fly Quiet Awards  

Four airlines have been recognized for their efforts to reduce noise for communities around San Diego International Airport. 

The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has announced the winners of the 2024 Fly Quiet Awards: 

• United Airlines received the highest Fly Quiet Score in the large domestic carrier category due to its use of the quieter Airbus A321 Neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. United Airlines also received a good Quality Fleet score and was rated best airline in compliance with Noise Curfew rules within the large domestic category. 

• Breeze Airways won in the small domestic carrier category by operating the quieter Airbus A220-300 aircraft in and out of SAN. Throughout 2024, Breeze scheduled only three nighttime departures between 10:00 and 11:30 p.m. and had no curfew violations. 

• DHL Express USA won the air cargo carrier category for having the best noise exceedance score within the Cargo category and for scheduling only one departure between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and no departures between 10:00 and 11:30 p.m. DHL also had no curfew violations. 

• Lufthansa won the international carrier category. The airline operates the newer and quieter Airbus 350-900 aircraft. Lufthansa had no departures between 10:00 and 11:30 p.m. and has never had a curfew violation while operating at SAN. 

The Airport Authority, in collaboration with the Airport Noise Advisory Committee (ANAC), introduced the Fly Quiet Program in 2017 to encourage airlines to work collaboratively with the airport and the community to operate as quietly as possible in the San Diego area. 

Achieving the Fly Quiet Award recognizes that airlines have tried to balance their operational needs with those of the community. The Fly Quiet Program uses a scoring system based on specific scientific metrics that measure how quietly they operate, such as the types of aircraft they use, how loud those aircraft are, and their adherence to SAN’s curfew which prohibits departures between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. 

For more information about SAN’s Fly Quiet Program and to learn about other ways in which SAN is working with airlines and the community to reduce noise,  visit san.org/airport-noise.