Regulatory Alert: FAA Seeks Airport Feedback on Noise Abatement Chart Updates

On April 15, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released and requested comment on a draft document, “Noise Abatement Entries in the Chart Supplement (CS),” which includes proposed guidance to airports on how to communicate noise abatement information (NAI) to the pilot community through the CS. FAA’s CS serves as the main source for pilots to access operational airport NAI prior to flying into an airport. With the guidance, FAA is trying to improve the consistency, clarity, and accessibility of NAI and motivate pilots to voluntarily adhere to an airport’s noise reduction guidelines.
 
FAA is actively soliciting input from airports and the wider aviation community to enhance the practicality of the final document. The deadline to submit comments is June 17. Industry feedback must be submitted through the provided comment matrix and emailed to NACS@faa.gov. AAAE is also considering submitting comments. If you have any feedback on the proposed guidelines that you would like AAAE to consider including in its comments, please contact Megan Eisenstein at megan.eisenstein@aaae.org.
 
Primary Takeaways. FAA does not currently have any standard terminology or structure for airports to describe NAI within the CS. In the document, FAA indicated that its efforts to improve pilot access and adherence to NAI outlined in the CS include:

• Adding a new “noise entry” in the CS’s Airport/Facility Directory Section for each airport that follows certain specifications;
• Discussing preliminary best practice recommendations with pilot, operator, and airport stakeholders;
• Issuing best practices on the structure and nomenclature for noise entries as detailed in this proposed guidance;
• Adding commonly used noise-related terms to the CS’s list of abbreviations; and
• Including instructions for adding NAI to the CS in draft AC 150/5020-1, which focuses on noise control and compatibility planning. The completed guidance document, after reviewing industry feedback, is anticipated to become an appendix to AC 150/5020-1.

 What the FAA Needs to Hear from Airports: FAA’s new draft structure and nomenclature outlines the agency’s recommendations for publishing NAI in the CS. FAA seeks input from airport operators and other industry stakeholders on the following topics, among others:

• Is “NAI” an effective term, or should another term be used?
• Most NAI is voluntary. For conciseness, this document advises against using the word “voluntary” in every noise entry. Only mandatory requirements will be clearly marked as such. 
  • For the airport community, will this construct be readily understood by your community stakeholders?
  • This document defines quiet hours as voluntary and curfews as mandatory. Is this distinction clear?
• The template and terminology must be practical to help airport operators easily submit NAI to FAA for inclusion in the CS. 
  • Does the sequence of NAI categories in the CS make sense, or is there a better arrangement?
  • What confusion or ambiguity could arise despite using standardized terms?
  • After reviewing 488 published NAIs, FAA’s recommendations aim to address most common uses. However, unique terms might occasionally be necessary. Are there any significant omissions in NAI or related noise terms?

What’s Next? FAA invites feedback from the industry on this draft to enhance its quality and practicality. AAAE staff will review the draft recommendations with both the Environmental Services & Sustainability Committee and the General Aviation Committee to gather and provide necessary feedback. Industry feedback must be submitted through the provided comment matrix and emailed to NACS@faa.gov by June 17.