A key advisory panel has signed off on a proposal aimed at spreading out flight corridors departing to and arriving from the south at Reagan National Airport.
The plan, which now heads to local governments and ultimately the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), could provide relief for those living in a swath of southern Fairfax County that currently bears the brunt of aircraft noise in the corridor.
“I truly believe the recommendations being put forward today are the best available, based on what we had to work with,” said Jim Allerdice, speaking on behalf of the consulting firm Vianair.
He detailed the proposals at the Oct. 23 meeting of the Reagan National Community Working Group, which, for the past decade, has been studying ways to reduce the impacts of aircraft noise emanating from the airport in Arlington.
After the briefing, the panel voted 17-0 to recommend FAA consideration of Vianair’s recommendations.
Currently, flights departing to the south from the airport’s main runways travel down the Potomac River before turning west, following a corridor across Fairfax County and then turning on a heading to reach their destinations.
An east-west stretch of Fairfax County from Fort Hunt to Pohick Hills faces the most impact from the narrow corridor, according to tracks detailed at the meeting.
The proposal slated for submission to the FAA would seek to instead send about 40% of southbound departing flights on a more southern route along the river before they make any turns. By that point, they would be at a higher altitude and flying over less populated terrain, reducing noise impacts.
In the presentation, Allerdice said Vianair had to take a regional perspective as it considered how to adjust air corridors to accommodate 300,000 aircraft movements per year at Reagan National. He acknowledged there are always winners and losers.
“It’s very difficult to please all the people. If you move a flight track, it’s going to go over someone’s house and not go over someone else’s house,” he said.
Allerdice added that the goal of the recommendations is to spread out the departure lanes “so that one area would not have to bear the burdens of most of the traffic.”
The report also recommends reconfiguring some southern approaches to DCA to diffuse noise from arriving aircraft.
In addition to limiting disproportionate impacts to specific areas, the recommendations aim to:
- Diversify flight paths to concentrate them over the Potomac River, highways, industrial areas and utility corridors where possible
- Maximize the altitude aircraft use both on departure and arrival to limit noise impacts
- Avoid flights above noise-sensitive areas, including schools, hospitals, historic sites, parks and houses of worship
The Vianair analysis was funded by the governments of Fairfax and Prince George’s counties and Alexandria City. The current proposal did not study areas north of Reagan National, which were addressed earlier.
Since its 1941 opening and the introduction of jet aircraft there 25 years later, National Airport’s travel corridors have been adjusted based on operational needs and resident concerns.
In 2015, the FAA implemented a “NextGen” satellite-based navigation system that concentrated flight paths in narrow corridors, a change that Fairfax County says has subjected Mount Vernon District residents to “continuous high noise levels.”
Robert Meier, an alternate member of the working group representing the Mount Vernon area, said the proposal laid out on Oct. 23 was “far better than I might have expected,” given the restrictions the airport must work with.
It will deliver “a much more equitable distribution of noise,” Meier said.
When the proposal might end up in the hands of the FAA is an open question: the agency is among those impacted by the federal government shutdown.
“Hopefully they’ll be back on the job shortly,” said David Mould, chair of the working group and vice president of communications for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
Allerdice, a former air traffic controller, said FAA personnel might require “quite a bit of time” to get back up to speed when they return to the office.
“They’re going to be very, very busy catching up,” he said.
Created in 2015, the working group consists of representatives from airlines, the airports authority and localities impacted by flight operations at Reagan National. The Oct. 23 meeting was its 62nd meeting over the past decade.
“Happy birthday to us — a lot has been accomplished,” said Mould, who has led the panel since its inception.
MWAA plan for ‘Fly Quiet’ program draws flak
While discussion of the proposed flight-path alterations ran smoothly, the meeting hit turbulence when Mould announced MWAA plans to keep “Fly Quiet” noise mitigation initiatives in-house, rather than hire an outside firm as the working group had hoped.
Funding outside contractors to manage the program “did not make it to our budget priorities list,” Mould said. He added that discussions with other airport operators found some reported more success with internal efforts than outside providers.
The decision not to obtain assistance from independent experts didn’t go over well with many on the advisory panel.
“An outside contractor is needed,” said Janelle Wright, a panelist from Montgomery County who heads a subcommittee that recommended one be hired.
She said the Reagan National Fly Quiet report, delivered to the body just hours before the meeting, was “more disappointing than encouraging.”
Community members on the panel believe an independent consultant could provide statistical information necessary for them to engage directly with airlines on opportunities to mitigate noise.
“We need the data and we need data-driven improvement,” said Susan Shipp, another Montgomery County member of the panel.
Currently, MWAA staffs a single-person Noise Information Office covering both Reagan National and Dulles International airports. Working-group members praised staff member Mike Jeck, but said more resources were needed.
In late September, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors also reiterated their desire, first expressed in 2024, for an outside operator to run a Fly Quiet program at Reagan National.
MWAA’s decision to keep efforts in-house will get a more robust discussion at the working group’s next meeting, slated for January.
“We’re happy to listen,” Mould said, adding that the authority leadership “appreciates everyone’s perspectives.”
Fly Quiet programs, which collect data to inform voluntary measures undertaken by airlines to reduce noise, are in place at a number of major airports nationally, including in the New York, Chicago and San Francisco metro areas.
