City officials expressed their displeasure at the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to keep the flight path change that occurred last fall for planes flying to and from Sky Harbor International Airport, and pledged to continue petitioning for changes at a city council subcommittee meeting Wednesday.
The change has come under fire from residents and city leaders because of the lack of communication between the FAA and the city and the threat the noise from planes poses to historic neighborhoods along the flight paths.
“We will continue to convey to (the FAA) that we are not happy with no as an answer,” said Tamie Fisher, Phoenix aviation director.
Fisher said the next steps are to continue to engage with the FAA and Congress. She said they would need to come back to the city council at some point.
People started complaining in September when the FAA changed the flight paths to and from Sky Harbor in an effort to streamline arrivals and departures using satellite-based technology. The airport and the FAA have received thousands of complaints since then regarding the noise due to the changes made.
The Phoenix Aviation Department held community outreach meetings through the month of January to get feedback from residents and collect data to bring to the FAA. The largest meeting was held Jan. 24 at the Phoenix Art Museum with 105 attendees ready to share their ideas.
Assistant Aviation Director Chad Makovsky said the data collected showed that the community had three main concerns: quality of life, decrease in home value and a wealth transfer from the community to the airline.
Makovsky said they were proud to have already implemented ways to improve communication per the community’s request such as Facebook and Twitter updates, council newsletters, direct mailing and enhancements on Sky Harbor’s website.
“(We’re looking at) what is of value to the community to keep them informed,” Makovsky said.
However, the majority of the requests asked that the planes return to the original flight paths. On Dec. 23, Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher wrote a letter to the FAA on behalf of the city requesting to end the new flight paths. FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta wrote back explaining that they cannot revert back to the procedures they were using before, and that “making changes is not as simple as turning one procedure off and turning another one on.”
Aviation Department Public Information Manager Julie Rodriguez said they are, “doing everything we can to advocate on behalf of the community.” She said there are consultants who specialize in determining where noise monitors should be placed and outreach programs.
District 5 councilman Daniel Valenzuela said the aviation department has been diligent with this issue, but he would like to see the paths reverted back.
“Even if they say it’s unlikely, we need to start that conversation,” he said.
Contact the reporter at Sara.Vermilyea@asu.edu.
