PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 The Federal Aviation Administration wants to change flight paths at Sky Harbor Airport and nine other Valley airports, a move that could impact airlines and residents living beneath the routes jets follow during takeoff and landing.<\/p>\n
The FAA is proposing satellite-based navigation<\/a>, promising safer and more efficient flights. The agency is holding public comment sessions over the next two weeks on the proposed route changes. Any new routes would take effect next year.<\/p>\n History of flight path controversy<\/p>\n When the FAA changed flight paths at Sky Harbor in 2014<\/a>, the move brought controversy and court hearings. The agency changed flight paths with no warning and no public input.<\/p>\n The city and historic neighborhoods responded by suing the federal government. A federal judge eventually ordered the FAA to restore the old flight paths.<\/p>\n Salvador Garcia lives in the F.Q. Story Historic District<\/a> in downtown Phoenix. His neighborhood fought to get its quiet back.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really hear the planes, we do see them from a distance,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n Garcia said having input matters.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a say at the table to what happens to your community and what goes into your community that\u2019s a huge impact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n New technology promises safety improvements<\/p>\n Cary Grant, an assistant professor of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle<\/a>, said the new technology will make flying safer for pilots, even if it comes at a price for some areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe procedures guarantee that you will be clear of any obstacles that are out there,\u201d Grant said.<\/p>\n He said the design of departures aims to get airplanes up safely and away from the airport as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to say that jet noise is the sound of freedom, but not everybody agrees with that,\u201d Grant says. \u201cI think that people have to understand that the design of the departures is to get the airplanes up safely and away from the airport as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia said the planes look nice, but from a distance.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, I think it looks nice from a distance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The FAA is hosting 4 virtual public hearings regarding the possible changes to 10 airports around the Valley, including Sky Harbor.<\/p>\n A \u2018Noise Mapping Tool<\/a>\u2019 has also been created, where you can track the change in noise the updated flight paths, as proposed, would create.<\/p>\n Click\/tap here<\/a> to view the entire Draft Environmental Assessment documents the FAA has created for this project.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n