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Ruling Overturns FAA’s Rerouting of Flight Paths

Following complaints from residents and the city of Phoenix, a federal court has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must reverse a 2014 decision to change takeoff and landing routes of planes traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Three judges presiding over the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed on Tuesday that the FAA’s 2014 decision to change the routes of planes traveling in and out of the Phoenix airport was “arbitrary and capricious.”  After the FAA implemented the new routes in 2014, the airport received a record number of noise complaints.  The flights rattled Phoenix residents’ doors.  Some residents developed insomnia, and even donned earmuffs to mute the noise of airplane traffic in their home.  Residents complained that peace and tranquility became scarce as residents could no longer barbecue or sleep with the windows open without the sound of noisy aircraft overhead.

Thousands of residents of nearby Phoenix neighborhoods were affected by the flight changes and in addition to the city’s legal challenge of the FAA decision, the residents also filed their own legal challenge.


Nearby residents and city officials were pleased with the ruling.  Vice Mayor Laura Pastor called the decision “great news for the impacted neighborhoods who have been fighting these changes for the past three years.”  Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton stated that it was “just wrong” of the FAA to change flight paths without seeking input from local residents.  “The FAA needs to go back to the drawing board and do this right,” the mayor said in a statement.

The FAA did not immediately state whether they will fight the ruling.  They are expected to challenge the decision.

The FAA instituted new paths for arrival and departure at Sky Harbor in September 2014 to maximize safety and fuel efficiency for incoming and outgoing flights.  Residents of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston have also complained due to the changes made to flight paths at these airports.  The changes are part of the FAA’s NextGen program which is meant to modernize the national air traffic control system.

Sky Harbor Airport, which receives 1200 airplanes and over 120,000 passengers per day, is one of the busiest airports in the United States.