Resident in Sengkang Complains About Fighter Jet Noise; Others Share the Same Frustration

By
Gowri Rajaratnam
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If you live in Sengkang and work from home regularly, then you’re probably no stranger to the frequent, loud sounds of fighter jets flying overhead. 

But for one resident, Alson, the constant roar of airplanes seems to have finally struck a nerve. 

Since moving to Sengkang last December, Alson has struggled with the noise from the constant fighter jet flyovers. On 27 September, he took to social media platgform Xiaohongshu to vent about his experience, pointing out that within 30 minutes, he had already heard five to six jets fly past his flat. 

To know more about Xiaohongshu, watch this to the end:

In the 1.5-minute video Alson posted, you can’t see any jets, but the noise they make clearly drowns out everything else. 

To make matters worse, his neighbour’s ongoing renovation work has added to the already overwhelming noise, which, he jokes, has turned his workspace into a scene from a popular battle royale game. 

He even added, “If the noises from the planes persist, I don’t have to attend any online meetings anymore.” 

Unsurprisingly, he’s not the only one who feels affected. Other residents from Sengkang, Punggol, and even Hougang joined in, sharing similar concerns and stories of how the noise has been interrupting their families and daily routines. 

One commenter mentioned that the noise begins as early as 8 a.m., waking them up before their own alarm clock.

Another work-from-home resident, who has lived in Sengkang for 10 years, said the noise has been “especially bad” lately and sympathised with neighbouring students who have to deal with the noise while trying to focus in class.

Some even raised concerns about possible hearing damage, pointing out that the planes seemed to be flying lower.

An Ongoing Issue

This isn’t exactly a new problem. For years now, noise complaints about the fighter jets have been reported in the media, with many even taking their complaints directly to the RSAF Facebook page. This only got worse when the circuit breaker started, and more people started to work from home. 

For example, in 2021, Geraldine Fok, who lives in Fernvale Link, reported hearing jets flying over 30 times in a single day. Adrian Koh, a university lecturer who lived in Punggol, used a noise meter app to measure the sound levels he heard, noting they often reached up to 90 decibels. Koh, along with many other residents, had also called for reduced flights, especially during important exam periods.

Twice in 2023, Sengkang MP Jamus Lim has brought this topic up in Parliament sessions. 

In July, he asked Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen “whether there are alternative flight paths for jets taking off from Paya Lebar Airbase that do not require flying over Sengkang and Punggol” and followed up in September by asking if the RSAF had considered noise-reducing technologies for the aircrafts. 

Dr Ng explained that the current paths are designed with safety and airspace constraints in mind, and any “alternative departure flight path from Paya Lebar Air Base would incur higher population safety risk at take off, or enter the airspace of our neighbour or around our airports.” 

He added that the RSAF was still monitoring the development of noise-reducing technologies and that none have been implemented yet. 

Unfortunately, this means that Alson and others in his position may not find relief any time soon. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has confirmed that the Paya Lebar Air Base, where the fighter jets are coming from, will be relocated, but not until the 2030s. 

That’s at least another six years of noise for Sengkang and Punggol residents. Maybe it’s time to invest in some quality noise-cancelling headphones. 

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Gowri Rajaratnam