Scenario: You’ve purchased the quietest hot tub in the world. You’re out in your backyard soaking in your hot tub late of an evening only to have your peace and quiet shattered by airplane noise. Not just one plane, but one right after another, more than one a minute. Your peaceful evening is ruined.

If you live in many Seattle and Bellevue neighborhoods, this has happened to you and will occur with more frequency in the summer months. The noise factor has been increasing recently due to the rise in fuel costs as airlines fly lower for many miles to save fuel. The FAA is considering flight path changes to take traffic away from neighborhoods currently overwhelmed by flight noise.

Unfortunately air traffic is not spread evenly though out the Seattle area. A few neighborhoods take the bulk of all air traffic in and out of Sea Tac.  We’ll always have aircraft noise, but I, for one, would like to see an equitable distribution over all Seattle neighborhoods.  Only the FAA can change the distribution pattern.  The Seattle Council on Airport Affairs has an excellent summary of the issues and what’s at stake.

They also have a hot line to voice your complaints. Report Aircraft Noise to the Aircraft Noise Hotline:
Call! It makes a difference! Call the hotline numbers when you hear loud aircraft and report: 1) The date and time of the incident; and, 2) Your name, address, zip-code and phone number. If possible, add: aircraft description (e.g. 2-engined jet), and direction of flight (e.g. towards Sea-Tac or southbound).

Sea-Tac: 206-433-5393
Boeing Field: 206-205-5242
Renton Airport: 425-430-7471
Seaplanes: 206-684-8811

Port of Seattle Web Complaint Form
The Port of Seattle accepts noise complaints on the Web through a form. Click on the above to fill it out.

If airplane noise is annoying to you, too, take action! It’s about quality of life. It’s worth a call to vent your annoyance and protect your hot tub solace! The calls are being registered and tallied for the purpose of someday persuading the FAA to change the routing to a more equitable distribution. It’s about having the opportunity to soak in your hot tub in peace in quiet-at least some of the time!

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for Health through Water.