Rep. Adam Schiff sends letter to FAA regarding NextGen
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday asking the agency to look into the possible noise impacts of the Next Generation Air Transportation System around Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Schiff tells Daniel Elwell, acting administrator of the FAA, in the letter that Burbank residents have been complaining about an increased amount of aircraft noise during takeoffs since the implementation of NextGen, a satellite-based radar system used by airports in Southern California since last March.
Schiff’s letter comes on the heels of another letter sent by the city of Burbank and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, in which both entities also asked the FAA to determine whether NextGen is the cause of the increased noise.
“It’s important to get good answers,” Schiff said Friday. “People do sense an increase in noise in certain neighborhoods and would like to be able to determine whether this is the result of NextGen or some other cause, and the best way to do it is by asking the FAA to do an analysis and give us the objective data. We hope they take us up on this request.”
Burbank resident Audrey Ford, who started a group called Burbank for Quiet Skies, has been at the forefront of raising the noise issue around the airport and said she was glad to hear that her congressman is supporting their efforts.
Ford had met with Schiff’s staff members about two months ago, asking if the congressman would be willing to send a letter to the FAA to let the federal agency know about the concerns expressed by her and her neighbors.
“We’re beyond thrilled because the residents have been experiencing an increase in noise since the spring of last year and it is life-altering,” Ford said. “We’re experiencing noise not just between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., but there are flights that go out after hours, too, that are low and loud.”
Ford said the letters sent by Schiff, the city and the airport authority are big steps into figuring out how to find a solution to the noise issue, and that hopefully planes departing from Hollywood Burbank won’t have such shallow takeoff angles.
“We’re just hoping that enough awareness is brought to the issue that this is happening here in Burbank,” Ford said. “We just want the flights back up to the altitudes they once were.”
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
