(ANSA) - NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 17 - The San Francisco airport has decided to give a respite to the ears of its passengers.
SFO (acronym for the Californian airport) aspires to become a 'quiet airport', i.e. a silent airport, reducing the noise level in its terminals by 40%.
The first step was to limit loudspeaker announcements to affected gates instead of broadcasting them throughout the terminal.
"We have invested a lot - said the director Ivar C. Satero - in making the experience at SFO as relaxing and enjoyable as possible".
According to an official communication, more than 90 minutes of unnecessary ads a day were also eliminated.
The next step will be to reduce the noise of escalators and moving walkways.
Other airports in the world including Doha in Qatar and Helsinki in Sweden have already adopted so-called silence policies to make waiting before the flight less stressful.
Previously, SFO also committed to becoming 'zero-waste' by 2021 by banning single-use plastic water bottles.
(HANDLE).