July 2022 MCQSC Update: Noise Is Up at DCA; FAA wins lawsuit against residents of Scottsdale, AZ and Other News
Upcoming DCA Community Working Group Meeting this Thursday. The next quarterly meeting of the Reagan National Community Noise Working Group (CWG) is this Thursday, July 28 beginning at 6 PM. We encourage everyone to attend these meetings, which are open to the public and take place via Zoom. It is helpful to get a sense of the issues and the dynamics of working with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and the other jurisdictions affected by aircraft noise from DCA (Virginia and DC). Details and how to join here.
Noise is up at DCA. We are hearing from many of you that the airplane noise is becoming intolerable again as DCA ramps back up to pre-pandemic levels. The sheer volume of airplanes overhead is extremely disruptive and maddening. Making things worse, airplanes have more difficulty gaining altitude when the weather is extremely hot, so departures in the summertime are often at lower altitudes over MoCo communities than they are in the winter – and lower means louder. We are still anticipating that waypoint DARIC will be moved sometime in 2023 and we look forward to that development. Of course we will share any news on that when we receive it.
The FAA won in court again, this time against residents of Scottsdale, AZ. More here. As the article says: “Communities have once again been relegated to being ignored and unimportant in the Courts, which predominantly have supported the rogue FAA. Also to blame is Congress, which has given the FAA free rein in letting it self-determine any and all of its actions with no repercussions.” Click here to see the full text of the Court’s decision.
A few provisions to reduce aircraft Noise made it into the 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill. Press release from the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus here. The provisions direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “to engage with communities affected by aircraft noise, to prioritize the reduction of aircraft noise, to create a central repository for constituent complaints about aircraft noise, and to ….complete its ongoing evaluation of alternative metrics to current Day Night Level noise standards.” Appropriations also provide financial support for FAA studies and programs directed at minimizing aircraft noise. Unfortunately none of these provisions include due dates or requirements to report back to Congress.
Helicopters that are “non-essential” might be banned in NYC (more here). We consistently hear from folks in our area who are terribly impacted by helicopter noise. Anyone ready to spearhead a “Stop the Chop - DC” chapter?
Schiphol AIrport, a major international hub in Amsterdam is restricting the number of flights due to noise and other environmental concerns. This is BIG NEWS. It is a first anywhere in the world and is being called a “permanent restriction,” although the article also says it will be revisited in 5 years. Here are some key points from the article, which is titled Schiphol Airport is to permanently reduce the number of flights as ministers get tough on noise and pollution.
The reduction… will see the total number of flights restricted to no more than 440,000 take-off and landing slots a year from November 2023. Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers said the airport needs to cut flight volumes back to those of 2014. That figure represents a reduction of 12 per cent on current numbers, which have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels as the airport struggles with staffing issues.
Harbers told MPs in a briefing that the reduction is necessary to cope with noise and other forms of pollution, saying “a new balance” is needed between “the importance of a good international airport, a good business climate and the importance of a better and healthier living environment.
We wish you all a healthy and happy summer when you aren’t being driven crazy by the airplane noise!