John Wayne noise levels drop

Paul Clinton

Aircraft noise in Newport Beach neighborhoods dropped slightly

during the first quarter of this year, even though complaint calls

soared 72.9% during the period.

Airport officials reported the data as part of a quarterly noise

report that spanned January through March.

“The noise levels are showing a small decrease,” airport

spokeswoman Ann McCarley said. “Any time the noise levels are lower

is always good news to the residents living under the flight path.”

Airport managers collect data via 10 noise monitoring stations in

neighborhoods along the flight path. Each of the 10 stations showed a

slight drop in decibel level, between 0.1% and 0.4% when compared

with the previous four quarters.

However, Newport Beach residents called the airport about 73% more

often than they did between October and December.

More than 44% of the calls came from Balboa Peninsula, an area not

usually known for unusually high levels of jet noise. However, about

94% of the 159 complaint calls came from one household, the report

said.

“You’ve got an angry person with redial on their phone,” Mayor Tod

Ridgeway said. “The planes are fairly high in the sky [when they

reach the peninsula].”

Ridgeway applauded airport managers for encouraging carriers to

use the quieter Stage 3 jets and phase out older models.

During the last quarter of 2001, commuter carriers cut back

flights after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks crippled the nation’s

air system and kept fearful travelers away from airports.

John Wayne Airport had seen a drop in passenger levels since Sept.

11, a trend that began reversing earlier this year. In April, the

airport saw its first increase in passengers from the previous year.

The number of average daily flights, both arrivals and departures,

dropped to as low as 258 but has returned to about 270. Fewer flights

meant more passengers on the planes that used the airport. The

airport’s load factor, or the percentage planes are filled to

capacity, increased in each of the year’s first three months,

compared with last year.

The airport saw loads of 56.5%, 60.2% and 65.9%, respectively, for

the first three months, compared with 54%, 57% and 62% during the

same months of 2001.