Airport Noise

The latest Interim Fly Quiet Plan (IFQ) at Chicago O’Hare International Airport started on November 3, 2019. The FAA-reviewed plan, which rotates preferential nighttime runway use, was proposed by the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC), in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), to provide relief from nighttime noise for the communities around O’Hare.

The IFQ features an eight-week runway rotation plan. For each week, a runway use configuration is provided, with both primary and secondary options to accommodate potential changes in wind direction. The runway use configurations were designed by the ONCC to geographically balance noise exposure to the extent possible.

The voluntary Fly Quiet Program encourages pilots to use designated nighttime preferential runways and, in addition, flight tracks developed by the Chicago Department of Aviation in cooperation with ONCC, the airlines, and air traffic controllers.

The IFQ was approved by the ONCC membership in December 2017. The CDA submitted the formal IFQ plan to the FAA in February 2018. The FAA has determined that since the impacts of the program are temporary, a new Environmental Impact Statement is not needed and the plan was approved to move forward.

The IFQ will be in place for 28 weeks from November 3, 2019, through May 17, 2020, when work is scheduled to begin on Runway 4R-22L pavement rehabilitation. For a 17-week construction break from May 17 – September 13, 2020, nighttime operations will revert to the original Fly Quiet Program. IFQ will resume on September 13, 2020, and will be in place for 20 weeks through February of 2021, when construction of the Runway 9R extension will necessitate a return to original Fly Quiet.

The ONCC Fly Quiet Committee is now considering options for FQ21 – a new Fly Quiet plan to be in place once the O’Hare Modernization Program is completed and full build-out of the airfield is reached at the end of 2021. More information is available on the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission website.