Real Estate Professionals and Homebuyer Information

The MAC Noise Program Office recognizes that tolerances for aircraft overflights and/or aircraft noise vary among community members and airport neighbors--aircraft activity is not perceived as bothersome by some homeowners and terribly bothersome by other homeowners. The best way to assess your individual level of tolerance is to learn about the activity and how it may affect your specific lifestyle. 

People are often unaware of the air traffic patterns and noises that may affect them and their community before they opt to move into an area. The MAC provides this website page to offer tips and resources that may help home buyers and real estate professionals assess aircraft activity within the vicinity of a home. 

Tips & Resources

1. It is recommended that anyone looking to relocate make themselves aware of aircraft activity that occurs within three miles of any home being considered for purchase or rental. One way to accomplish this is to spend time in the area of interest and talk to the people who already live there.  Visit the area during noise-sensitive time periods (e.g., early mornings on weekends or late nights during the week).

2. Find out where the closest airport is located relative to the prospective property. You can do this by viewing the MAC's FlightTracker tool to locate a property and view flight paths of aircraft flying to and from any MAC-owned airport. Click here: FlightTracker. 

3. While you are at or near the property of interest, look up to watch which direction the planes are flying. The MAC owns seven airports within the Twin Cities metro area and all of them are available for public use 24 hours per day. The Federal Aviation Administration has sole jurisdiction over aircraft flight paths and aviation regulations. Click the following link to view the FAA's website: www.faa.gov

4. Data on aircraft operations and noise at each MAC-owned airport are documented and updated annually. MSP is the primary use airport, and the other six airports are called Reliever Airports. If you would like to learn about the Reliever Airport System click here: MAC Reliever Airports. If you would like to learn about noise-related information for each Reliever Airport, please visit: www.macnoise.com/other-mac-airports

5. Flight tracking information is available for aircraft activity within the Twin Cities metro area for any valid address location. The MAC publishes flight tracking data for all seven MAC-owned airports that includes flight number, aircraft type, altitude, speed, and direction for dates and time periods selected by the person viewing. These data are available on a near real-time basis (with a 20-minute delay) and historically. To access the MAC's FlightTracker, please visit: www.macnoise.com/tools-reports/flighttracker

6. Runway use and flight patterns to and from any airport are dependant on weather factors, including airfield wind direction and speed. When airfield wind speeds reach approximately seven miles per hour or greater, the runways that are most aligned with the wind direction are used for takeoffs and landings. Runway use at MSP is published monthly in a Technical Advisor's Report that can be accessed here: www.macnoise.com/tools-reports/monthly-operations-reports

7. The MAC's Residential Sound Mitigation Program provides assistance for eligible homeowners with home sound insulation. To determine if a specific home is eligible for this program, please visit: www.macnoise.com/residential-noise-mitigation/do-i-qualify

8. While the MAC collects aircraft noise complaint data, these data are not used by air traffic controllers or aircraft operators when making aircraft operations decisions.  Noise complaints are used in conjunction with other data to corroborate specific events or to identify possible operational trends. Monthly noise complaint statistics are published monthly in the Technical Advisor's Reports. Anyone who would like information about filing aircraft noise complaints associated with any of the MAC-owned airports may call the 24-hour hotline at 612-726-9411 (staffed M-F 8 am to 5 pm) or visit the Noise Program Office website at: www.macnoise.com/our-neighbors/file-noise-complaint 

9. Noise Quest is an independent information source that provides valuable answers to commonly asked questions about aviation noise. The Noise Quest website address is as follows: www.noisequest.psu.edu

The MAC Noise Program Office maintains a Report and Document Library that includes a comprehensive array of aircraft noise and operations data. To access this library, please click here: www.macnoise.com/tools-reports/report-and-document-library

For more information about MSP runway closures, runway use, and the noise and flight track data collection system, please visit the Tools and Reports website page: www.macnoise.com/tools-reports

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