Since April 2015, Mount Vernon District residents have been subject to continuous high noise levels from aircraft flying over their communities, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a new satellite navigation system “NextGen”. In the Summer of 2016, Congressman Beyer and Supervisor Storck organized a community meeting with MWAA and the FAA to discuss the concerns for the south flow changes. After almost a year of continued noise issues and no changes to flight patterns, residents and Supervisor Storck’s office came together to form the South Flow Alliance. The South Flow Alliance is a group of concerned citizens working to reduce aircraft noise pollution over their communities and to educate community members on what they can do to help bring attention to this issue. Based on citizen concerns, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Working Group has made recommendations to the FAA to alter flight paths to and from Reagan National Airport in an effort to address this issue. The FAA has agreed to alter departure flight patterns to keep planes over the Potomac River longer to achieve a higher altitude before turning over communities. The new departure procedure is currently in testing. Once tests are complete, there will be a phase of public outreach on any changes. The FAA has had more difficulty addressing arriving flights and we are at an impasse on new arrival procedures. This is an issue Supervisor Storck will continue to push the FAA to resolve.
To view the specifics of the recommendations from the MWAA Working Group, visit.
Supervisor Storck encourages anyone affected by this issue to stay engaged in efforts to address these concerns. You can do so by liking the South Flow Alliance on Facebook. This group has been and will continue to have update meetings to keep the community energized and informed. Flying too low, let them know!
Report planes that are too loud or too low here. Read more about filing a noise complaint...