The Phoenix Aviation Department has been working on solutions to address noise concerns with the flight paths into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with a new application, while attempts are being made in Congress to help those affected by the noise.
Phoenix residents can now file complaints through Sky Harbor’s website, the new app, found at planenoise.com or by calling the Sky Harbor Airport noise information office at 844-244-7430. The FAA’s initial altered-flight pattern plans came from their Next Generation Air Transportation initiative on Sept. 18, 2014.
Julie Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Phoenix Aviation Department, said the Aviation Department records the number of complaints that are received. There have been 27,000 complaints filed from 1,700 households about flight noise since the change.
Steve Dreiseszun, a resident of the F.Q. Story Neighborhood Historic District, has dealt with the noise issues since the changes were made. He said the noise from planes flying overhead has even affected his son’s schooling.
“The impact is to our quality of life and to our opportunity to enjoy our property as it was before Sept. 18,” Dreiseszun said.
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) recently sent a letter to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Jan. 29 concerning the language in the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill.
The FAA flight-path reauthorization bill addresses the concerns of Phoenix residents impacted by the changes, and the Aviation Department pinpoints provisions being made that will alleviate excess noise in the communities near Sky Harbor, according to the copy released by U.S. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster.
“They’re attempting to incorporate language provisions into those bills that will bring relief to communities around the country that have been affected by the FAA flight path changes,” Rodriguez said.
Aviation Department Director James Bennett said the nature of the language in the bill is a work in progress.
There is a very long path that these provisions must take, and there is no guarantee the provisions will become law, Bennett said. Immediate change in the flight paths is unlikely.
A lawsuit between Phoenix and the FAA is currently underway, however, “no one has the ability to say how it will turn out in the litigation,” Bennett said.
Contact the reporter at brianna.bradley@asu.edu.
