NBAA, NATA and Industry Partners Join in Opposition Against Aircraft Noise Reduction Act

NBAA, NATA along with other industry partners expressed opposition to H.R. 5423, the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act (ANRA), which aims to give local officials the ability to severely restrict access to general aviation airports.

The bill faces broad resistance from industry groups, ranging from general aviation organizations to airline associations. In a letter to U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio and Ranking Member Sam Graves, as well as Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Rick Larsen and Ranking Member Garret Graves, NBAA and its allies said that H.R. 5423 would undercut the utility and safety of thousands of airports across the nation, “reversing course on the need to regulate aviation matters at the federal level.”

Read the group’s letter in its entirety. (PDF)

NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen explained the importance of federal oversight of aviation, saying: “For close to 100 years, Congress has recognized that aviation must be regulated at the federal level. The national system of airports would be undermined if restrictions are made at the local level, as the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act is attempting to allow.”

H.R. 5423 would allow general aviation airport operators to impose restrictions on aircraft used for compensation or hire. Not only would these restrictions unnecessarily impede airline and business aviation transportation operations, but critical services – such as air ambulance, organ transport and disaster relief – could be impacted as well.

“H.R. 5423 would undermine the long-standing and intentional role of general aviation airports – acting as relievers to allow certain operations to be conducted away from major airports,” added Bolen. “This legislation could drive general aviation traffic to air carrier airports, creating more congestion and potentially negatively impacting safety.

“Today, we are jointly standing up for access to our nation’s air transportation system. Allowing restrictions to be developed and implemented at the local level, as H.R. 5423 would do, sets a dangerous precedent of circumventing the oversight of aviation clearly assigned to the federal level,” Bolen concluded.

"NATA’s members rely on the efficiency of and access to the National Airspace System. The operational flexibility of general aviation in America sets us apart from other countries and fosters the economic value that GA flights bring to communities across the country. We will continue to strongly advocate in favor of federal policies that maintain access to our aviation infrastructure and reject attempts to restrict it,” stated Jonathon Freye, NATA’s Vice President of Government & Public Affairs. “NATA members are good neighbors who have historically come to the table with local stakeholders to find collaborative solutions. This legislation is an unfairly unilateral approach to noise concerns that allows local politicians to assume a historical federal role, while circumventing a balanced dialogue on the implications of restricting charter and air cargo flight operations in communities that rely upon them.”

The letter was signed by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Airlines for America, the Cargo Airline Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, the National Air Transportation Association, the National Business Aviation Association, and the Regional Airline Association. The letter stipulates that the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 enshrined federal authority to regulate noise restrictions and defined a process for resolving noise complaints that has been successful for decades.

“Undercutting the role reliever airports play, H.R. 5423 could shift operations to commercial airports, many of which are already capacity constrained. Instead of working with industry to develop solutions, this legislation could simply shift any direct noise impacts to other neighborhoods and cause a cascade of delays and other impacts throughout the NAS,” the letter reads, in part.