Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), co-chairs of the Quiet Skies Caucus, and Caucus Vice-Chairs U.S. Representatives Tom Suozzi (NY-03) and Mike Quigley (IL-05), released a statement today on the inadequate response they received from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Stephen Dickson on their concerns on airplane noise. During a meeting with Administrator Dickson in October 2019, Caucus members expressed serious concerns about airplane and helicopter noise and the FAA’s lack of responsiveness to impacted communities. The Caucus had previously requested information on FAA’s plans to mitigate the impacts on these communities but found the response from Administrator Dickson disappointing both prior to and during their meeting.
“Administrator Dickson’s response to our detailed questionnaire was the latest in a series of failures by FAA to respond to constituent concerns,” the Caucus Chairs and Co-Chairs said. “We have heard directly from our constituents that the FAA continues to ignore community issues and has failed to respond with timely information. In his written response to questions from Quiet Skies members, Administrator Dickson said that he did not see any ‘evidence of a lack of responsiveness to community concerns,’ yet constituents’ repeated complaints about airplane and helicopter noise indicate otherwise.”
“We continue to receive complaints about interrupted sleep patterns, disruption of business and economic activities, shaking homes, and concerns about the effect on youth development and education,” the lawmakers continued. “Furthermore, the Administrator’s view that community noise concerns are solely an aviation industry issue is not only inadequate but false. The FAA has a responsibility to help mitigate noise concerns in impacted communities and the Administrator’s failure to recognize these concerns speaks volumes about why our communities feel slighted and shows a lack of willingness to make the necessary improvements to administration functionality. We plan to use our oversight function on the committees we serve to direct the FAA to engage with impacted communities and examine possible solutions to this debilitating problem.”