FAA proposed flight pattern overhaul draws criticism
Hearing of a proposed overhaul of flight patterns over Florida, residents of the San Francisco and Washington, D.C., areas are warning that the outcome may be more disruptive than described by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen initiative, is revamping how it manages flight paths of passenger and other aircraft in Florida, proposing to switch next year from radar and voice commands to a system relying on GPS and automated instructions.
That change is expected to bring more precise landing and takeoff routes along narrower corridors.
To discuss potential Central Florida impacts tied to Orlando International Airport, Sanford’s airport and Orlando Executive Airport, the FAA held a workshop online Monday that drew a public audience of 7,836 participants.
The second and last workshop is to be held Friday at 3 p.m.
FAA officials said there are no major changes proposed for flight patterns in Central Florida. As a result, they said, noise won’t be “significantly down or up.”
But upon learning of FAA’s outreach in Florida, a Maryland group, the Montgomery County Quiet Skies Coalition, said that NextGen revisions of patterns to and from Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia were unexpectedly detrimental.
The new approaches and departures were low and loud, according to the group, and upsetting to thousands of homes and their schools.
A coalition organizer, Anne Hollander, said “the people of Florida should be alerted to this before it is too late.” She urged residents to learn more at NextGenRelief.org
Hollander said the window for challenging NextGen measures with a lawsuit is 60 days once the program is implemented.
She said FAA officials have learned they need to “put on a very good dogand-pony show before the roll-out, so that nobody will really understand the coming storm.”
Margaret Spak of Menlo Park, Calif., and a member of Sky Posse Palo Alto, a group raising awareness and seeking relief from NextGen implementation, said the overhaul of flight patterns at San Francisco’s airport was disruptive. The group maintains a library of resources at skypossepaloalto.org.
Spak also called on Florida residents to carefully consider the FAA program “so residents in your area do not have to go through our experience of not being able to enjoy our patios in the summer, not being able to get a full night’s sleep and just constantly bombarded by jet noise.”
The FAA responded with a statement, saying some NextGen implementations and other changes “have resulted in community noise concerns, while others have not.”
“The FAA is committed to collaborating with airports, airlines and airport community roundtables, which represent residents who live near airports, to address aircraft noise,” the agency said in its statement. “We work closely with stakeholders to explore solutions to their concerns, while remaining committed to ensuring the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System.”
The agency is overhauling air-traffic control for landing and takeoff patterns in 21 metropolitan areas, including in Atlanta, Cleveland-Detroit, Charlotte, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Florida, Houston, Phoenix, Washington D.C., Denver, Northern and California.
In general, NextGen is “to make flying even safer, more efficient, and more predictable,” according to the administration.
The task in Florida is complicated because it is the only state with four, major international airports. A dozen public workshops focused on Central and South Florida and the Tampa Bay areas will wrap up with Orlando-area event Friday afternoon.
Registration for Friday’s workshop can be done at floridametroplexworkshops.com
People can participate without registering on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Search those platforms for Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA also will take additional comments until July 10. By registering, the public can obtain instructions for submitting a writing comment via an online form or by email. Comments can be mailed to: South Central Florida Metroplex Draft EA, Federal Aviation Administration, Eastern Service Area – Operations Support Group, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, GA 30337