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FAA implements new flight procedures at Palm Beach International Airport to reduce noise complaints

WPTV's Ethan Stein attended a meeting Thursday where the new standard departure plan was announced. Airport officials hope the change means fewer planes flying over homes around the airport

WPTV

By: Ethan Stein

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PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented new standard flight procedures at Palm Beach International Airport, which airport officials hope means fewer planes flying over homes around the airport.

WATCH BELOW: 'A flight flew over our house and just woke up the entire neighborhood,' David Skok says during the meeting

New departure flight path at PBI aims to reduce noise complaints

The changes come after WPTV listened to complaints about increased aircraft noise from local residents after a permanent no-fly zone was established over Mar-a-Lago. The change caused planes to alter their flight path, which resulted in the airport getting more than 500 noise complaints in just three months. Officials said that’s about 10 times the amount of complaints they airport would receive in an entire year.

David Skok, a local homeowner affected by the changes, is part of a group called the Quiet Skies Coalition. He said the planes wake people up in the middle of the night.

original Flight Path PBI.jpg — Original Flight Path

“A flight flew over our house just a few hundred feet above us and just woke up the entire neighborhood and all of our neighbors said they couldn’t get back to sleep again,” Skok said.

He also said their group is looking at suing the FAA, because the change could significantly lower their home values. Skok also said the planes wake people up in the middle of the night. Multiple municipalities are now pursuing legal action against the FAA, seeking answers about why the flight restrictions became permanent and potentially asking a federal judge to reverse the decision.

Flight path after flight restriction.jpg — Flight path after flight restriction

Officials said they need more data to strengthen their case and have discussed relocating noise monitors to better collect information. They continue to encourage residents to report noise complaints.

DeWitt Ingram, who is a former FAA employee and control tower worker at Palm Beach International Airport, said the new standardized departure rules mirror a similar proposal he created after then private citizen Donald Trump sued the airport over the issue in the 90s. He urged the county officials and the advisory board to better use their authority from owning the airport.

Under new departure procedure .jpg — Flight path under new departure procedure

“There’s a lot of things that can be done here,” Ingram said. “You guys need to understand that you own the airport and you can dictate its use.”

He said he’s concerned that planes won’t follow the path after he took photos showing planes flying over his house this morning. WPTV also found some planes departing Palm Beach International Airport at a more northern direction, according to paths on publicly available flight tracking data.

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