Airport Commissioners Compromise on Noise

Southwest Minneapolis, Richfield, Edina get reprieve from new routes.

Area residents’ ears are safe—for now. According to Fox 9, the commission governing the Twin Cities airports will let the FAA implement a new set of flight paths over Mendota Heighs, Eagan, and the Minnesota Valley, but will leave the current system in place in Minneapolis, Richfield, and Edina. FAA officials told the Metropolitan Airports Commission that the split implementation will delay any implementation on either side of the Minnesota River until 2014. "Organizing works," tweeted Southwest Minneapolis' City Councilmember Betsy Hodges (Ward 13), shortly after MAC took their vote. FAA officials had asked the Metropolitan Airports Commission to endorse a set of technologies called RNAV and PBN, the technologies would allow air traffic …

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James Sanna

2:30 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

FWIW, while reporting on this topic, I sometimes heard Minneapolis folks say that they would rather have the flights be distributed over a large number of houses as they are now, rather than concentrated in a few narrow spots, making life extra-unpleasant for those few folks.   more ›

Proposed Airport Departure, Arrival Changes Prompt Meeting in Eagan

The changes will be discussed from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Eagan Community Center, according to the Pioneer Press

Will Airport—and Airplane Noise—Expand?

Airport advocates say the facility needs to prepare for future growth. Others aren't so sure.

Many Minneapolis-area residents probably got an unpleasant shock when they opened their newspapers on Sunday. According to a story in the Star-Tribune, the Metropolitan Airports Commission is looking to add $1.5 billon worth of new airport facilities in the comming years, to handle what they see as a big boost in passenger traffic. "Unless the economy totally collapses, there is going to be growth in the market here," said Dennis Probst, executive vice president of the airports commission. Citing the presence of numerous Fortune 500 firms in the region, he said, "The business community is going to continue to travel unless folks start pulling out of here." Some of Southwest Minneapolis' elected representatives aren't too keen on the plan. …

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James Sanna

9:43 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012

Ah, spouses, the other "call of nature." There's one more open house at the airport commission's HQ on Oct. 1 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a public hearing on the proposals starting at 7 p.m. The HQ is at 6040 28th Avenue South, Mpls http://www.metroairports.org/mac/appdocs/notices/Public_Notice_2020_EA.pdf   more ›

Quieter MSP Flights On The Horizon

New air traffic management, airplane technologies behind changes.

It's a sound as ubiquitous in areas near the airport as snow drifts are in January—the rattle of dishes in the cupboard as a roaring, whining passenger jet takes off or comes into land at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  However, relief could be in store for residents underneath the airport's flight paths, as the FAA rolls out a new air traffic management system called NextGen between now and 2025. Budget pain kept loud planes in place “For 40 years there’s been an organization rallying MSP concerned about noise in the neighborhood. The way the airport is used impacts noise exposure,” said Jim Spensley, President of the South Metro Airport Action Council. “The busier the airport is—flights per hour or minutes between …

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