Why is there so much aircraft noise around Boston Logan?

Boston Logan International (BOS/KBOS) is one of the busiest airports in New England with around 400,000 movements per year, and it sits just 5 km from downtown Boston across the inner harbor. Logan has six runways arranged in three pairs that point in multiple directions, so the corridor footprint extends through East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, and (depending on configuration) South Boston and the harbor islands. The proximity to dense residential neighborhoods combined with overland departures in most configurations gives Logan one of the largest urban-noise footprints in the US.

Which Boston neighborhoods are quietest for aircraft noise?

Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, Brookline, and most of Cambridge sit well clear of the main corridors and only catch high-altitude overflight. Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and West Roxbury are also quiet. The most affected neighborhoods are East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea — all directly adjacent to the airport. South Boston catches the corridor during south-flow operations; the Seaport District in particular hears departures.

What's the runway-rotation system at Logan?

Massport operates a 'preferential runway' system that distributes traffic across Logan's runways throughout the day to spread the noise impact. Different runways are favored based on wind, time of day, and noise considerations. The system aims to give each affected neighborhood quiet periods rather than continuous overflight. The runway in active use is published in real-time on Massport's noise abatement website.

Is East Boston loud from planes?

Yes — East Boston is one of the most consistently affected neighborhoods in the entire Boston metro area. The neighborhood sits directly west of the runway 22L/22R thresholds, so most arrivals from the east-northeast pass overhead at very low altitude (200-400 ft on short final). Departures from runways 4L/4R also climb out over East Boston. Combined with ground noise from taxiing aircraft, this is the heaviest overflight impact in the metro. Drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street.

How do I report aircraft noise at Logan?

Submit complaints to Massport's noise office via massport.com/logan-airport/community/noise-abatement or call 617-561-3333. Massport maintains a 24-hour noise hotline and tracks complaints by location to inform the runway preference program. Boston Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (BLACAC) reviews aggregated complaint data quarterly.

How does Boston compare to other US East Coast airports?

Logan has more urban impact than most US airports because it's so close to downtown — only DCA Reagan is closer to its city center. JFK and LaGuardia are also close to NYC but distribute noise across multiple ocean and bay approaches. Newark (EWR) is more isolated. Philadelphia (PHL) has overwater approaches that minimize residential impact. Logan's overland approaches in most directions give it the widest urban-noise footprint on the east coast.

Does coverage on this map include all aircraft?

Yes — commercial fleets at Logan have near-100% ADS-B coverage. The heatmap and density layers reflect actual traffic accurately. Hanscom Field (BED) general aviation traffic doesn't operate from Logan, so it doesn't affect the BOS-specific data. Coast Guard and military operations from the South Weymouth and other military airfields are also separate.

Boston Flight Path Noise Map – Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)

Name: Aircraft noise observations near Boston Logan International Airport
Creator: Flight Path Noise
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Aircraft noise around Boston in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Boston: East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea. Quietest: Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End, Jamaica Plain, Cambridge. Busiest around 3 PM local time averaging 1286 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-15.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

1286

flights / day · 38,572 total

Busiest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Winthrop

69 dB avg · ~1,154 flights/day · Busy road

Town directly east of Logan; arrivals on runway 22R and departures on 4L pass low overhead

Does Boston Airport have a curfew?

No — Boston has no formal curfew.

Logan operates 24 hours with no formal curfew. However, there are voluntary noise abatement procedures during 11 PM – 6 AM that prefer over-water departures and arrivals where weather permits. Massport (the airport operator) operates an active noise abatement program and runway-rotation system to spread noise impact, but commercial flights continue overnight, particularly cargo and international freight.

Boston Logan International (BOS/KBOS) sits just 5 km from downtown Boston across the inner harbor — one of the closest major-city airport pairings in the US. Six runways arranged in three pairs point in multiple directions, distributing traffic across East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, South Boston, and (at certain configurations) the harbor islands. The airport operates 24 hours with no curfew, though Massport runs an active runway-rotation system that tries to give each affected neighborhood quiet periods rather than constant overflight.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Logan has six runways arranged in three pairs: 4L/22R + 4R/22L (north-east/south-west, the primary pair), 9/27 (east-west), and 15R/33L + 15L/33R (north-west/south-east). The preferential runway system rotates which pair is in use based on wind, traffic, and noise-balance rules. This is why noise impact can change substantially between days — what’s quiet today might be loud tomorrow.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
East Boston	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Airport-adjacent; 22 arrivals + 4 departures
Winthrop	✈︎✈︎✈︎	East of airport; 22R arrivals overhead
Revere	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under 33L/33R departures
Chelsea	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Multiple runway corridors
South Boston	✈︎✈︎	South-flow operations corridor
Quincy	✈︎✈︎	South arrivals; over-water approach
North End	✈︎✈︎	Departure climb-out
Beacon Hill	✈︎	Higher altitude on departure
Back Bay	✈︎	Commercial district, high altitude
South End	✈︎	Off corridor
Cambridge	✈︎	Occasional departure overhead
Brookline	✈︎	Off corridor entirely
Jamaica Plain	✈︎	Outside primary footprint

The practical move at Boston is west of the Charles River (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Cambridge, Brookline) if aircraft noise is a primary concern — these neighborhoods only catch high- altitude overflight. South-side Boston (Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury) is also quiet. The directly-affected neighborhoods (East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea) are also the most affordable in Boston’s expensive market — there’s a clear noise-vs-price trade-off.

Flight patterns and runway use

Logan’s runway selection follows the Preferential Runway Advisory System (PRAS), which combines wind direction, traffic demand, and a 7-day rolling noise balance to choose the active runway pair. General patterns:

Westerly winds: 22L/22R arrivals, 27 departures (over-water to the south-east). Quietest configuration for most neighborhoods — keeps both arrivals and departures over water.
North-easterly winds: 4L/4R arrivals, 9 departures. East Boston catches arrivals; Revere/Winthrop catch departures.
South-easterly winds: 15R/15L arrivals from the north-west, 33R/33L departures. Heaviest impact on Revere and Chelsea.
Calm winds: rotates between configurations to spread noise.

The route-density layer on the map above shows the complex multi-runway pattern: bright corridors extending in every direction from Logan rather than a single dominant axis. East Boston and Winthrop are bright in nearly every configuration; the other corridors brighten depending on which runway-pair is active.

When is it quietest?

Logan’s 24-hour operations produce a continuous-with-peaks noise profile that depends heavily on the active configuration:

Morning departure bank (6 AM – 9 AM): peak. Domestic morning rush plus international long-haul to Europe.
Midday (10 AM – 3 PM): moderate, sustained.
Evening arrival bank (5 PM – 9 PM): peak. International arrivals from Europe + domestic returns.
Late evening (10 PM – midnight): tapers but still active.
Overnight (midnight – 6 AM): voluntary noise-abatement procedures prefer over-water operations. Quieter but never silent in the affected neighborhoods.

For your specific address, drop a pin on the map above to see the hourly profile.

A note on the over-water approaches

Massport has invested heavily in over-water arrival procedures — particularly the runway 22L/22R “Logan Visual” arrival from the east over the ocean — to keep approach noise off populated areas where weather permits. In poor weather, instrument approaches require overland routes which spread noise more widely.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above is the answer to “is this spot loud?” Three steps:

Search your address or postcode in the bar at the bottom of the map.
Drop a pin — click the location marker that appears.
Read the noise report that opens in the sidebar: average daily noise (Leq), peak observed dB, flights per day passing within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

For neighborhoods near the airport (East Boston, Winthrop, Chelsea), check the configuration-specific impact — different streets can have very different exposure depending on which runway pair is active most days.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there so much aircraft noise around Boston Logan?: Boston Logan International (BOS/KBOS) is one of the busiest airports in New England with around 400,000 movements per year, and it sits just 5 km from downtown Boston across the inner harbor. Logan has six runways arranged in three pairs that point in multiple directions, so the corridor footprint extends through East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, and (depending on configuration) South Boston and the harbor islands. The proximity to dense residential neighborhoods combined with overland departures in most configurations gives Logan one of the largest urban-noise footprints in the US.
Which Boston neighborhoods are quietest for aircraft noise?: Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, Brookline, and most of Cambridge sit well clear of the main corridors and only catch high-altitude overflight. Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and West Roxbury are also quiet. The most affected neighborhoods are East Boston, Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea — all directly adjacent to the airport. South Boston catches the corridor during south-flow operations; the Seaport District in particular hears departures.
What's the runway-rotation system at Logan?: Massport operates a 'preferential runway' system that distributes traffic across Logan's runways throughout the day to spread the noise impact. Different runways are favored based on wind, time of day, and noise considerations. The system aims to give each affected neighborhood quiet periods rather than continuous overflight. The runway in active use is published in real-time on Massport's noise abatement website.
Is East Boston loud from planes?: Yes — East Boston is one of the most consistently affected neighborhoods in the entire Boston metro area. The neighborhood sits directly west of the runway 22L/22R thresholds, so most arrivals from the east-northeast pass overhead at very low altitude (200-400 ft on short final). Departures from runways 4L/4R also climb out over East Boston. Combined with ground noise from taxiing aircraft, this is the heaviest overflight impact in the metro. Drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street.
How do I report aircraft noise at Logan?: Submit complaints to Massport's noise office via massport.com/logan-airport/community/noise-abatement or call 617-561-3333. Massport maintains a 24-hour noise hotline and tracks complaints by location to inform the runway preference program. Boston Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (BLACAC) reviews aggregated complaint data quarterly.
How does Boston compare to other US East Coast airports?: Logan has more urban impact than most US airports because it's so close to downtown — only DCA Reagan is closer to its city center. JFK and LaGuardia are also close to NYC but distribute noise across multiple ocean and bay approaches. Newark (EWR) is more isolated. Philadelphia (PHL) has overwater approaches that minimize residential impact. Logan's overland approaches in most directions give it the widest urban-noise footprint on the east coast.
Does coverage on this map include all aircraft?: Yes — commercial fleets at Logan have near-100% ADS-B coverage. The heatmap and density layers reflect actual traffic accurately. Hanscom Field (BED) general aviation traffic doesn't operate from Logan, so it doesn't affect the BOS-specific data. Coast Guard and military operations from the South Weymouth and other military airfields are also separate.

Sources and further reading

Logan International Airport — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
Massport — Logan Airport Noise Abatement — Massachusetts Port Authority
Boston Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee — BLACAC / Massport
FAA — Logan flight procedures — Federal Aviation Administration

Data updated 2026-10-15 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-05-23.

30 dB	Whisper
45 dB	Quiet residential
55 dB	Normal conversation
65 dB	Busy road
75 dB	Vacuum cleaner
85 dB	Heavy traffic
95 dB	Motorcycle nearby

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Boston Flight Path Noise Map – Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)

Aircraft noise around Boston in October 2026

Does Boston Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

A note on the over-water approaches

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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