A BIG thank you to all of the Sunnyvale residents who participated in the Surf Air protest at San Carlos Airport on June 17.
More than 80
residents of Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and San Mateo County gathered at the San
Carlos Airport on Saturday morning (June 17, 2017) to protest the rapid
increase in Surf Air flights arriving and departing from that airport. SurfAir flies very noisy turbo prop planes (the
Swiss-made PC-12), and airplanes approaching the San Carlos airport are at low
altitude (<3000ft), even as far out as Sunnyvale. This combination of frequent, loud, low Surf
Air flights has resulted in a sky-rocketing of complaints to the San Carlos
airport.
Demonstrators
gathered holding signs that included the phrases "No Fair! No More Surf
Air", "Stop Dumping On
Sunnyvale", and “Sunnyvale Says
Surf Air Must Go!”.
Approximately
40 Sunnyvale & Cupertino residents and another 40 San Mateo County residents
voiced their discontent and solidarity during the protest – Chanting phrases like
“No More Surf Air” and “Go Away Surf Air”.
Many of the Sunnyvale and Cupertino protesters wore orange as a symbol
of unity and solidarity against the issues associated with Surf Air at the San
Carlos Airport.
San Mateo
County residents and Sunnyvale/Cupertino residents do have common ground on many
Surf Air and San Carlos Airport issues. Sunnyvale and San Mateo county residents
both agree that commercial airlines, such as Surf Air, have no place at small local
airports like the San Carlos Airport.
Noise, number of flights, curfews, and other issues affect large parts
of the Bay Area and many places other than just San Mateo County where the
airport is located. These residents also
agree in the critical need and in their support for the implementation of a
curfew at the San Carlos Airport.
There
is clear contention between San Mateo County residents and Sunnyvale residents regarding
the Bayside Visual Approach (BVA), which has transferred the Surf Air flight path
(and airplane noise) from the peninsula residents to Sunnyvale residents –
Effectively transferring airplane noise from one community to another. It is critical that decisions on flight path,
noise, and number of flights must take a regional approach – the impact goes
far beyond San Mateo County near the San Carlos Airport.
A
Sunnyvale resident present at the protest commented: “This new flight path over Sunnyvale is an
example of the rich San Mateo county residents in communities like Atherton, Palo
Alto, and Menlo Park pushing the problems outside their county. This should not be allowed.” We hope
that Sunnyvale’s strong attendance at the protest will signal to Surf Air and
San Mateo County officials that Sunnyvale residents will not rest until this
issue is addressed with consideration for Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and other
impacted residents. Sunnyvale City
Officials received absolutely no notice when the initial BVA (Bay Visual
Approach) proposal was considered for San Mateo County. Despite the distance and time commitment for
Sunnyvale residents to attend the protest, they turned out in force with
creative signs, slogans, and even sidewalk protest art!! Sunnyvale and Cupertino should not be
disregarded in the desire to find an effective solution for all impacted communities.
