LA sues FAA over plane noise at Burbank Hollywood Airport
BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer is suing the FAA in a move to quiet jet noise over neighborhoods in the southeastern San Fernando Valley.
"Today we are urging the court to order the FAA to return to previous flight patterns, and divulge information about Burbank Airport airplane traffic which the public has long been entitled to see," Feuer said during a news conference.
Residents have registered complaints about noise affecting a wider area of Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino over the last three years and have met with local and federal officials on a task force.
MORE: Burbank airport noise complaints continue as officials search for solutions
The FAA's radar maps show that more flights are drifting south soon after they depart the Hollywood Burbank Airport.
The FAA says there has been no policy to change flight patterns. Rather, that the straying flights are the result of multiple factors. They include a higher volume of flights, differences in aircraft type and changing demands on air traffic controllers, who must also guide traffic from other nearby airports.
According to data on the FAA website, there were 3,300 monthly departures in 2014 and 5,900 in 2018.
"We are committed to continuing to support the Task Force as it works to develop consensus recommendations to address community concerns," says FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
The city attorney says that the noise complaints jumped soon after the FAA implemented a new satellite system for aircraft guidance.
The FAA says that the new guidance system does not direct flights until the jets are 11 miles from the airport, far beyond city neighborhoods.
The city attorney says the task force will continue working with the FAA, but until a resolution is found, the FAA should do whatever it takes to return the air traffic to where it was three years ago.
