Is Garfield Ridge loud from Midway airport?

Yes — Garfield Ridge wraps the north and west sides of the airport and is one of the most exposed neighborhoods. It sits directly under 4-end departures and 22-end and 13-end approaches, with jets passing low overhead in most runway configurations. The Chicago Department of Aviation has insulated thousands of homes in this area. Drop a pin on the map above to see overflight frequency for your exact block.

Why are planes so loud in Clearing and West Lawn?

Because both neighborhoods are airport-adjacent with no buffer of open land. Clearing forms the southern edge of the field (roughly 59th–65th St) and sits under the 4R/22L and 13/31 runway ends, so aircraft are barely off the ground or about to touch down as they pass over. West Lawn is on the airport's eastern border, under the 31R/31L approach and the 13 departure corridor. Midway's short, intersecting runways force steep climb-outs directly over these homes.

Which neighborhoods near Midway are quietest, away from the flight path?

Areas a few miles off the runway centerlines see noticeably less overflight: Gage Park to the east, Oak Lawn to the south, and Berwyn well to the north all fall on the fringe of the corridors. There is no truly quiet zone immediately around Midway because it is hemmed in by housing on all sides, but exposure drops off with distance from the runway ends. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.

What are the Midway Fly Quiet program hours?

Fly Quiet runs from 10 PM to 7 AM. During those hours runway 22L is the preferred departure runway — sending climb-outs to the southwest over more industrial corridors, forest preserves and expressways where possible — and controllers and pilots are asked to use preferential nighttime flight tracks over the least-populated areas. A separate rule requires departures to expedite climb through 1,500 ft from about 10 PM to 6 AM. Fly Quiet is voluntary, so compliance varies night to night.

How do I file a Midway airport noise complaint?

The Chicago Department of Aviation runs a noise complaint line through its Airport Noise Management System. Suburban residents can call 1-800-914-8537; within the City of Chicago, file through 311 (call 311 or use the CHI 311 website). You can also submit complaints online through the FlyChicago Midway noise pages. Logged complaints feed the CDA's noise monitoring and the Fly Quiet reporting.

Why is Bedford Park and Burbank affected when they're south of the airport?

Because runway 22L — the preferred overnight departure runway and one of the busiest by day — sends jets climbing out to the southwest, directly over Bedford Park and then Burbank. Bedford Park also sits under 4-end arrivals. The southwest is where Fly Quiet deliberately steers night departures, so these communities can hear traffic late even though it is meant to avoid the densest housing.

Which runways does Midway use and in which direction?

Midway has four short, intersecting runways, but commercial jets use only two: 4R/22L (6,445 ft, southwest–northeast) and 13L/31R (6,522 ft, the longest, northwest–southeast). Chicago's prevailing southwest and northwest winds mean those two pairs carry most traffic. Note the longest runway was temporarily labeled 13C/31C from 2023 until June 2025 before being re-designated 13L/31R, so older maps and sources may name it differently.

Chicago Flight Path Noise Map – Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)

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

Aircraft noise around Chicago in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Chicago: Clearing, Garfield Ridge, West Lawn, Bedford Park, West Elsdon. Quietest: Oak Lawn, Gage Park, Berwyn. Busiest around 3 PM local time averaging 724 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-18.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

724

flights / day · 21,722 total

Busiest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

3 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Bedford Park

70 dB avg · ~577 flights/day · Loud conversation

Industrial-residential suburb off the southwest end; directly under 22L night departures and 4-end arrivals.

Does Chicago Airport have a curfew?

No — Chicago has no formal curfew.

there is no mandatory curfew, and Midway operates 24 hours a day. What it has instead is a set of voluntary noise-abatement measures overnight: a voluntary air-carrier curfew between 10 PM and 6 AM, the Fly Quiet program (10 PM–7 AM) which makes runway 22L the preferred departure runway and routes traffic over the least-populated tracks, and a requirement that all departures expedite their climb through 1,500 ft between roughly 10 PM and 6 AM. These are requests and procedures, not enforced limits on how many flights operate or when, so you will still hear aircraft at night.

Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW/KMDW) is one of America’s most tightly hemmed-in major airports. Its compact one-square-mile footprint on the Southwest Side — about 12 miles southwest of the Loop — is wrapped on all four sides by a dense grid of single-family bungalows, with homes sitting just across the street from the airport fence. Unlike sprawling O’Hare to the northwest, Midway has no buffer of open land, so departures and arrivals climb and descend directly over densely populated South Side and southwest-suburban neighborhoods at low altitude. Four short, intersecting runways force steep climb-out profiles, and the dominant southwest–northeast pair (4R/22L) sends the heaviest jet noise over Clearing, Garfield Ridge, Bedford Park and the near southwest suburbs. The Chicago Department of Aviation has insulated more than 10,000 nearby homes — a measure of how acute the residential exposure is. There is no mandatory night curfew; only a voluntary “Fly Quiet” program nudges traffic onto less-populated tracks after 10 PM.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Midway runs four runways, but commercial jets use only two of them: 4R/22L (6,445 ft, southwest–northeast) and 13L/31R (6,522 ft, the longest, northwest–southeast). The other two — 4L/22R (5,507 ft) and 13R/31L (3,859 ft) — handle general aviation and light aircraft. Because the field is boxed in by housing, there is no over-water escape and no genuinely quiet ring of suburbs immediately around it; exposure is really a function of how close you are to a runway end.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Clearing	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Forms the airport’s southern edge; under 4R/22L and 13/31 ends
Garfield Ridge	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Wraps the north and west sides; under 4 departures and 22/13 approaches
West Lawn	✈︎✈︎✈︎	On the eastern border; under 31R/31L approaches and 13 departures
Vittum Park	✈︎✈︎✈︎	West side near Cicero Ave; under 4 departures and 22 approaches
West Elsdon	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under the 13L/31R extended centerline east of the field
Bedford Park	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Southwest end; under 22L night departures and 4-end arrivals
Burbank	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Squarely under the 22L departure climb to the southwest
Ashburn	✈︎✈︎	Off the southeast end; 31 approaches and turning departures
Chicago Lawn / Marquette Park	✈︎✈︎	Under easterly paths but farther from runway ends
Summit (Argo)	✈︎✈︎	West along the 4/22 axis; turning traffic and 4-end arrivals
Bridgeview	✈︎✈︎	Within the broader 22L departure fan, farther out
Stickney / Forest View	✈︎✈︎	Northwest; some 13L approaches and 31 departures
Oak Lawn	✈︎	South of the field, on the fringe of the corridors
Gage Park	✈︎	East of the airport, largely off the centerlines
Berwyn	✈︎	Well north; only peripheral overflights

If aircraft noise is your top concern, the practical move around Midway is distance from the runway ends along the southwest–northeast and northwest–southeast axes. Gage Park to the east, Oak Lawn to the south and Berwyn to the north sit off the main centerlines and catch far fewer overflights. The ring of airport-adjacent neighborhoods — Clearing, Garfield Ridge, West Lawn, Vittum Park, West Elsdon — is the most consistently affected; if you’re looking at a house or apartment there, drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street.

Flight patterns and runway use

Chicago’s prevailing winds blow predominantly from the southwest and northwest, so the southwest–northeast pair (4R/22L) and the northwest–southeast pair (13L/31R) carry most operations, and commercial jets are confined to those two runways. Because the airport is surrounded by housing on every side, both departures and arrivals pass low over dense neighborhoods regardless of which configuration is in use — there is simply no direction that avoids homes.

When the airport is in a southwest flow, departures off 22L/22R climb out over Bedford Park and Burbank to the southwest, while arrivals to 4R/4L descend over the same corridor from the northeast. In a northwest flow, departures off 13L head over West Lawn and West Elsdon to the southeast, and 31R arrivals approach from the southeast over Bedford Park and Garfield Ridge. The short runways force relatively steep climb gradients, so aircraft are still low and loud as they cross the first ring of neighborhoods.

One naming caveat worth knowing if you compare maps: the 6,522-ft primary runway was designated 13C/31C from August 2023 until June 12, 2025, when it was re-designated back to 13L/31R (the older 13L/31R was decommissioned and converted to Taxiway H). Sources from 2023–2025 may label the same strip differently.

The route-density layer on the map above shows the cumulative result: bright corridors running southwest (over Bedford Park and Burbank) and southeast (over West Lawn and West Elsdon) from the two commercial runways, with the heaviest concentration right at the runway ends where the bungalow grid meets the fence.

When is it quietest?

Midway has no mandatory curfew and runs 24 hours, so the overnight quiet you’d get at a curfew airport like Sydney doesn’t exist here. What shapes the nighttime profile instead is a stack of voluntary noise-abatement measures:

Voluntary air-carrier curfew (10 PM – 6 AM): airlines are asked, not required, to avoid scheduling in this window. Traffic thins overnight but does not stop.
Fly Quiet (10 PM – 7 AM): runway 22L becomes the preferred departure runway, steering climb-outs to the southwest over more industrial corridors, forest preserves and expressways; preferential nighttime tracks aim to route traffic over the least-populated areas.
Expedited climb (≈10 PM – 6 AM): all departures must climb quickly through 1,500 ft MSL to gain altitude sooner over nearby homes.

Because all of these are requests rather than enforced caps, compliance varies night to night, and southwest-end communities (Bedford Park, Burbank) can hear late departures specifically because that’s where Fly Quiet steers them. During the day, expect a heavy morning departure bank, sustained midday traffic, and an evening arrival peak — the typical pattern for a busy domestic point-to-point hub. Wind shifts also matter: a change from a southwest to a northwest flow will move the heaviest noise from the 22L corridor over to the 13L/31R corridor over West Lawn and West Elsdon.

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

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above answers “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 in the sidebar: average daily noise, peak observed level, flights per day passing within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and the Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make Midway’s tight footprint obvious — the hottest zones hug the runway ends in Clearing, Garfield Ridge, West Lawn and just off the southwest end over Bedford Park. Addresses a few miles off the runway centerlines (Gage Park, Oak Lawn, Berwyn) generally land in the quieter range.

If you want to act on what you find, the Chicago Department of Aviation handles noise complaints: suburban residents can call 1-800-914-8537, and within the City of Chicago you file through 311. Logged complaints feed the CDA’s noise monitoring and Fly Quiet reporting. Residents in the most-affected blocks may also qualify for the Residential Sound Insulation Program, which has soundproofed more than 10,000 homes around the field.

Frequently asked questions

Is Garfield Ridge loud from Midway airport?: Yes — Garfield Ridge wraps the north and west sides of the airport and is one of the most exposed neighborhoods. It sits directly under 4-end departures and 22-end and 13-end approaches, with jets passing low overhead in most runway configurations. The Chicago Department of Aviation has insulated thousands of homes in this area. Drop a pin on the map above to see overflight frequency for your exact block.
Why are planes so loud in Clearing and West Lawn?: Because both neighborhoods are airport-adjacent with no buffer of open land. Clearing forms the southern edge of the field (roughly 59th–65th St) and sits under the 4R/22L and 13/31 runway ends, so aircraft are barely off the ground or about to touch down as they pass over. West Lawn is on the airport's eastern border, under the 31R/31L approach and the 13 departure corridor. Midway's short, intersecting runways force steep climb-outs directly over these homes.
Which neighborhoods near Midway are quietest, away from the flight path?: Areas a few miles off the runway centerlines see noticeably less overflight: Gage Park to the east, Oak Lawn to the south, and Berwyn well to the north all fall on the fringe of the corridors. There is no truly quiet zone immediately around Midway because it is hemmed in by housing on all sides, but exposure drops off with distance from the runway ends. Use the pin-drop tool above to compare specific addresses.
What are the Midway Fly Quiet program hours?: Fly Quiet runs from 10 PM to 7 AM. During those hours runway 22L is the preferred departure runway — sending climb-outs to the southwest over more industrial corridors, forest preserves and expressways where possible — and controllers and pilots are asked to use preferential nighttime flight tracks over the least-populated areas. A separate rule requires departures to expedite climb through 1,500 ft from about 10 PM to 6 AM. Fly Quiet is voluntary, so compliance varies night to night.
How do I file a Midway airport noise complaint?: The Chicago Department of Aviation runs a noise complaint line through its Airport Noise Management System. Suburban residents can call 1-800-914-8537; within the City of Chicago, file through 311 (call 311 or use the CHI 311 website). You can also submit complaints online through the FlyChicago Midway noise pages. Logged complaints feed the CDA's noise monitoring and the Fly Quiet reporting.
Why is Bedford Park and Burbank affected when they're south of the airport?: Because runway 22L — the preferred overnight departure runway and one of the busiest by day — sends jets climbing out to the southwest, directly over Bedford Park and then Burbank. Bedford Park also sits under 4-end arrivals. The southwest is where Fly Quiet deliberately steers night departures, so these communities can hear traffic late even though it is meant to avoid the densest housing.
Which runways does Midway use and in which direction?: Midway has four short, intersecting runways, but commercial jets use only two: 4R/22L (6,445 ft, southwest–northeast) and 13L/31R (6,522 ft, the longest, northwest–southeast). Chicago's prevailing southwest and northwest winds mean those two pairs carry most traffic. Note the longest runway was temporarily labeled 13C/31C from 2023 until June 2025 before being re-designated 13L/31R, so older maps and sources may name it differently.

Sources and further reading

Chicago Midway International Airport — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
Midway Aircraft Noise Complaints — Chicago Department of Aviation (FlyChicago)
Fly Quiet Program (Midway) — Chicago Department of Aviation (FlyChicago)
Aircraft noise complaints — City of Chicago / CHI 311
KMDW Chicago Midway International Airport runways — OurAirports
Record of Approval — Chicago Midway Part 150 Study — U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

Data updated 2026-10-18 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-05-30.

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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Chicago Flight Path Noise Map – Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)

Aircraft noise around Chicago in October 2026

Does Chicago Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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