SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — People who spend any time in downtown communities directly underneath the flight path of incoming and outbound planes from San Diego International Airport know how loud it can get sometimes.

Over the last few years, the regional Airport Authority has worked with airlines to try and minimize noise. This week, they recognized a handful of airlines for their outstanding efforts to work as quietly as possible with the “2023 Fly Quiet Awards.”

These awards, according to the airport authority, are determined based on a scoring system using metrics that measure how quietly an airline operates — like the types of aircraft they use, how loud those aircraft are and whether the airline adheres to San Diego’s curfew.

Here are the airlines who earned recognition for their quiet arrivals and departures:

Southwest Airlines

According to the Airport Authority, Southwest Airlines earned the highest Fly Quiet Score out of all of the large domestic carriers for minimizing noise coming in and out of San Diego. This is due, in part, to its use of the Boeing 737 MAX, an aircraft that airport authority officials say is “newer and quieter.”

Hawaiian Airlines

Out of all San Diego’s small domestic carriers, the Airport Authority says Hawaiian Airlines is making great headways at reducing noise. Similarly to Southwest, Hawaiian Airlines is doing this by using a quieter and newer aircraft, the A321new aircraft, for more than half of their flights.

DHL Express USA

While San Diego International is mostly known by locals for its commercial travel service, air cargo carriers also utilize the airport’s runway.

As far as these airlines go, Airport Authority officials commended DHL Express USA for its noise-related efforts. Using the Boeing 800, a quieter cargo aircraft, the service did not have a single noise curfew violation in 2023 and had the lowest noise exceedance score among San Diego’s air cargo carriers.

Lufthansa

For international travel, Lufthansa earned recognition from the Airport Authority for its noise mitigation efforts. According to the authority, the airline uses the Airbus 350-900, another new and quiet aircraft. It also schedules nearly all of its departures prior to 9 p.m. and has never had a curfew violation while operating out of San Diego.

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