Hundreds of people crowded into the Phoenix city council chambers Thursday night to vent to city and federal officials about recent changes in arrival and departure routes from Sky Harbor Airport. Many of the new routes take airplanes over west central Phoenix neighborhoods.
A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration explained the new procedures are part of a nation-wide plan, known as Next-Gen, to improve safety and efficiency
Steve Dreiseszun is a resident in one of the affected neighborhoods. He said residents were unaware of the changes until they heard the planes flying over their homes.
"Next-Gen is intended to achieve certain benefits and efficiencies and the public and residents most affected were not allowed input prior to these changes. Unfortunately that process as not served us well," Dreiseszun said. "There are unintended consequences caused by the flight path change now following the Grand Avenue corridor. Noise readings are exceeding by 20 decibels over the baseline noise."
An FAA representative said the tests were conducted before the changes were made and those tests indicated there would be no significant difference in noise. Thursday's hearing was intended to gather feedback from residents, but there was no indication from the FAA if any changes would be made.
