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O'Hare Airport Noise

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airportThe Village of Schaumburg is located approximately 10 miles northwest of O’Hare International Airport which results in flight traffic and aircraft noise occurring over the village. Many factors influence whether or not planes fly over Schaumburg including runway utilization, wind direction, construction, and safety.

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The Fly Quiet Committee of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC) began working on a new Fly Quiet Plan that reflects the changes made to the runway configurations as part of the O’Hare Modernization Program in 2015.  The goal of a Fly Quiet Program is to provide residents with predictability to the greatest extent possible and to adopt a regional approach to distributing nighttime flight noise, ensuring that all communities are sharing in some of the noise without having to take on the entire burden. 

The Fly Quiet Committee anticipates voting on a new Fly Quiet program in early Summer 2022.  The Committee’s recommendation will then be advanced to the full ONCC for a vote, anticipated in late Summer 2022. 

If approved by the ONCC, the Fly Quiet program will be submitted to the FAA for an environmental review to ensure that the proposed program does not have any adverse environmental impacts.  It is anticipated that the FAA review process will take up to 24 months to complete.  Once approved, the new Fly Quiet Program would replace the original Fly Quiet Program adopted in 1997 and would be the new permanent fly quiet program at O’Hare Airport.

View additional information on the Interim Fly Quiet Runway Rotation Plan, including an IFQ schedule overview as well as a week by week schedule.

Runway Utilization

Runway utilization, or how often each runway is used for plane landings and departures, has a significant impact on the number of planes flying over Schaumburg. O’Hare Airport currently has a total of 8 active runways (an additional runway was commissioned in October 2015). View an airport layout diagram. The Village of Schaumburg is most impacted by flights using Runways 9L/27R and 14R/32L.

Air traffic controllers determine which runways are used for landing and departing flights. Factors that are taken into consideration when deciding which runways to use include wind direction, length of the runway, the size and weight of the plane and the time of day.

Wind Direction

Wind direction is the largest contributing factor to determining which runways are used. For safety reasons, planes take off and land into the wind. When winds are from the east, planes land toward the east and take off from the west heading east. Arrival and departure patterns with easterly winds result in additional air traffic over Schaumburg. In the Chicagoland region, easterly winds occur 30-40% of the time and are most frequent in the spring and early summer months.

Construction

Temporary construction projects take place at O’Hare Airport each year, and these projects can often require the closure of runways. When runways are closed for construction, flights that would normally use those runways to take off and land are diverted to other runways, resulting in a temporary shift in air traffic. In 2015, Runway 9R/27L is closed for maintenance until the end of November, and Runway 10L/28R will be closed on weekends through mid-August.

Safety

Identified safety concerns can also influence runway usage. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified a safety concern with converging runways. Converging runways occurs when the flight path of two or more runways intersects less than 1 mile from the departure end of the runways. O’Hare has several converging runways, and corrective actions taken to address the safety concern include providing greater separation between planes and limiting the use of the converging runways when possible. These corrective actions have shifted air traffic in order to minimize the safety concerns identified by the FAA.

Village Actions

The Village of Schaumburg has taken an active role to address O’Hare noise concerns in the community.

O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC)

The Village of Schaumburg is a founding member of the ONCC. Established in 1997, the ONCC is the designated body responsible for overseeing noise mitigation efforts for O’Hare Airport. The Village is also a member of the ONCC’s Technical Committee which works with the FAA, Chicago Department of Aviation, air traffic controllers and the airlines to identify ways to reduce airplane noise. O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission’s Ad Hoc Fly Quiet Committee reviews and recommends changes to the Fly Quiet program, O’Hare’s nighttime noise abatement program. Following the FAA’s environmental re-evaluation and the Chicago Department of Aviation’s recommendations on possible ways to modify nighttime noise abatement procedures, the ad hoc committee will look to find ways to provide relief for residents who are impacted by noise.

Suburban O’Hare Commission (SOC)

The Village of Schaumburg also works with the Suburban O’Hare Commission, a coalition working to combat aircraft noise in the suburbs surrounding O’Hare Airport.

Communication with Stakeholders

The Village of Schaumburg also communicates directly with the FAA and Chicago Department of Aviation on specific issues to convey the village’s position on issues related to O’Hare noise.

Register a Noise complaint

There are three ways in which to register O'Hare noise complaints:

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