Affairs News

On May 1, 2007, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) passed a Resolution directing the Airport staff to pursue a new airline approach procedure that would help alleviate aircraft noise for communities that lie directly to the north of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (Airport). Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave their approval of this new instrument approach procedure for commercial airlines landing to the south on Runway 17L.

Presently, airlines landing to the south, in good weather, can only fly over Tampa Bay during daylight hours, but at night must fly over communities located north of the Airport. The new arrival procedure referred to as the “VOR-B Approach” enables airlines to fly, day or night, weather permitting, over Old Tampa Bay which will reduce noise impacts to communities to the north that are in close proximity to the Airport.

The Airport's Noise Abatement Task Force and United Parcel Service (UPS), in conjunction with Airport staff and the consulting firm of Jeppesen Data Plan, Inc. (Jeppesen) have been working towards the approval of this new procedure for several years. Jeppesen conducted an airspace study for the Airport which resulted in the design of the new approach procedure. UPS provided critical input in the design process and used their flight simulator to fly a variety of test landings. The FAA required that an airline sponsor the new approach. “Without the cooperation and sponsorship by UPS, we would not have received FAA approval of this new voluntary noise abatement procedure,” said Airport Director Noah Lagos.

FAA would not allow the Airport to impose this as a mandatory noise abatement procedure; therefore, the use of the “VOR-B Approach” by the airlines is on a voluntary basis. The Airport is working with our air carriers to disseminate and implement this new procedure. As the sponsor, UPS has agreed to fly it. “It will take time for the airlines to educate and train their pilots before we start to see the “VOR-B Approach” being flown with some regularity. Even though the procedure is voluntary, we believe that the scheduled carriers will fly the new approach in good weather conditions,” said Noah Lagos.

Wyle Laboratories Inc, an airport consultant, conducted a noise study, which included an analysis of the potential noise increases and decreases associated with the proposed “VOR-B Approach” procedure. The study also measured noise impacts on neighboring communities. It used cutting edge noise metrics that measure what people hear over their homes on a single event level rather than the FAA standard “DNL” metric which measures “cumulative noise”. The Airport has been recognized by a national aviation publication for its non-traditional approach to evaluating noise impacts. This study was also recently recognized at the statewide Florida Airports Council Noise & Environmental Conference, where the Airport received the Community Affairs Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in the development of a noise abatement program that achieved improved community goodwill.

Updates

Combined Noise and Airspace Study Report

Final Phase II Noise Report

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