Some People Just Like To Complain

Living near an airport can be noisy, but the majority of complaints about noise emanating from Denver International Airport come from one person. In the first nine months of 2016 this individual made a staggering 3,349 complaints, or an average of ten times a day. He is responsible for 76 percent of all complaints in that period.

Airports take complaints seriously have worked hard over the years to mitigate the noise. They respond to each person who requests a response, though this man usually just submits his complaints through an internet application.

The most curious factor in the case – he lives over 30 miles from the runways. A woman in his town says she never hears aircraft noise unless someone is cropdusting in their area.

Nationally, a handful of individuals are responsible for most of the noise complaints at most airports. One individual in California complained about airport noise 186 in one month in 2015, but lives 55 miles away from the airport.

Such complainers probably reveal more about themselves than about noisy airports. In his deep distress Job called out, “I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 10:1). It is much better to follow Paul’s advice in Philippians 2:14-16 – “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…”

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Adapted from “A single caller made 3,500 DIA noise complaints last year — and lives 30 miles away,” by Tom McGhee, Denver Post, October 20, 2016; < http://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/20/denver-international-airport-noise-complaints/ >.