In an unexpected turn of events, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has denied an application by Los Angeles World Airports (“LAWA”), under 14 C.F.R. Part 161 (“Part 161”), for approval of the nighttime noise mitigation procedure that requires both arrivals and departures to the west and over the Pacific Ocean from 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m. (“Application”). The FAA’s decision was unexpected because the procedure has been in effect on an informal basis for almost 15 years. LAWA sought FAA approval, pursuant to the requirements of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, as amended, 49 U.S.C. § 47521, et seq., (“ANCA”) which requires, among other things, that any restriction on noise or access be approved by FAA or, in the alternative, all the airlines operating at the airport. In addition, the filing of the Application was required by LAWA’s 2006 settlement with surrounding communities Inglewood, Culver City, El Segundo and the environmental group Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion.
With respect to Condition No. 1, FAA found that LAWA had arbitrarily defined the LAX noise problem as one of night noise associated with departures to the east that do not conform to over-ocean procedures. FAA found that LAWA’s proposed ban on such departures would benefit less than 0.2% of the population within the defined noise impact area, and, thus, would not contribute to a meaningful solution of LAX’s noise problem, although even that small percentage translates into a substantial number of citizens residing within the dense urban areas to the east of LAX.