Says Historic Neighborhoods In New Flight Paths Adversely Affected By Noise

The City of Phoenix, AZ has filed a lawsuit against the FAA in an effort to resolve noise issues that have cropped up after the agency re-routed airplanes departing from and arriving at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The FAA put the new procedures in place last September, and the Associated Press reports that the airport has received thousands of noise complaints since that time. The new routes are part of the NextGen changes that are designed to reduce fuel consumption and provide more direct routing in and out of airports.

But Mayor Greg Stanton said Monday that the city has tried on multiple occasions to work with the FAA on the noise issue, but the agency has not proposed any "meaningful changes." Stanton said the city was left with no option but to sue.

According to the report, the FAA has met with representatives of several airlines operating from Sky Harbor multiple times last week, but again, no changes have been forthcoming. The FAA reportedly sent a letter to Phoenix city manager Ed Zuercher on Monday which said the agency supports several of the city's proposed solutions, but they could take as long as a year to implement. Those include a voluntary nighttime noise reduction procedure.

In a response to the FAA, Zuercher said that the city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on noise mitigation efforts, and the FAA's proposed solutions do not do enough to compensate the city for its expenditures.

City Councilman Michael Nowakowski said that the agency did not attend community meetings while the changes were being considered, and it later would not compromise during meetings with the city's staff.

The FAA would not comment on pending litigation.

FMI: www.phoenix.gov, www.faa.gov