The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (Airport Authority) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Fly Quiet Awards, which recognizes airlines for their efforts to reduce noise during arrivals and departures at San Diego International Airport (SAN).

Four airlines are being recognized for their efforts in 2023:

• Southwest Airlines received the highest Fly Quiet Score in the large domestic carrier category due to its continued use of the Boeing 737 MAX, a newer and quieter aircraft.

• Hawaiian Airlines won in the small domestic carrier category by flying half of their overall flights in 2023 at SAN with the A321neo aircraft, a newer and quieter aircraft; and receiving a good nighttime score.

• DHL Express USA won the air cargo carrier category for its use of quieter aircraft, the Boeing 737-800; no noise curfew violations; and the lowest noise exceedance score among air cargo carriers.

• Lufthansa won the international carrier category, achieving the best overall score in all categories. The airline utilizes the Airbus 350-900 which is a newer and quieter aircraft; 95.5 percent of departures occurred prior to 9 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, please visit san.org/airport-noise.