January 2022 DCA Noise Meeting Summary
Meeting Highlights
MWAA Update: Flights and passenger counts are about 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Since the holidays, traffic has slipped with some flight cancellations because of the COVID-19 omicron variant. There is usually a drop in travel this time of year, but the current drop is also related to COVID. • Airlines have had staffing issues because of COVID’s impact on the workforce.
FAA Update: The FAA provided updates on their reviews of Recommendation 21, which addresses procedures for aircraft that are departing to the south of the airport, flying over communities in Prince Georges County, Maryland as well as Alexandria City and Fairfax County in Virginia.
There also was a South Flow SIDs Environmental Update Presentation by FAA Environmental Protection Specialist Charles Armstead. The study showed:
First two slides. First is baseline slide of noise as it is today. Second is the noise footprint after moving traffic farther south with implementation of the SIDs.
• Only place with a reduction of noise is near Groveton, but that would mean a 5db increase over the Belvoir/Mt. Vernon area.
• Implementing DCA SIDs would have negative impacts over State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) locations in VA and MD.
• They also have to look at environmental justice demographics on the impact on minority and lowincome populations.
.• Matt Fisher noted that each individual SHPO location must be petitioned to increase a noise change and any one of the 13 locations can object and the process is over. It might make sense in the big picture scheme of things to ask for the change to give some relief to Groveton, but all 13 of those locations have veto cards. Were just trying to set expectations.
