NAPLES, Fla. — Residents near the Naples Airport may have heard more airplane activity than usual Friday morning. That’s because the airport was testing new flight arrival procedures aimed at reducing aircraft noise.
Test flights began just after 6 a.m. and lasted around 90 minutes with several planes taking off and landing on all four runways.
WATCH AS THE NAPLES AIRPORT AUTHORITY EXPLAINS HOW THIS COULD IMPACT THE AREA SOON:
“We're currently designing new arrival procedures into the airport that will be safer, more efficient, and probably what most people are most concerned about — is quieter,” said Zachary Burch with the Naples Airport Authority.
Friday's early-morning trial is part of a larger noise study known as Part 150 — approved by the FAA and funded by the airport. Rather than wait years for the FAA to design the routes, the airport chose to hire a private firm.
"We anticipate that this will save years of time. It's not cheap, we'll spend well over a million dollars to do this probably but ultimately, we believe that investment is worth it," said Burch.
If the FAA approves it, the new procedures - which would change the operating altitudes of planes above the city - could be in place by the end of this year.
"It is pretty noisy down there," said a local resident describing the sound of the planes downtown.
Noise issues were among several concerns raised during recent discussions to relocate the Naples Airport, an idea the airport authority has said is at least several decades away if it were to ever become reality.
Despite the complaints, a recent poll by polling firm American Pulse found that 63.1% of Naples residents and 60.8% of others in Collier County prefer the Naples Airport to remain at its current location.
