Community Corner
No Airport Noise Complaints This Summer Surprises Committee
The stalled economy and high-flying fuel prices might have grounded the noisiest planes, an airport representative says.
Sikorsky Memorial Airport has been quieter lately, in more ways than one, and the sluggish economy and high fuel costs might be to blame.
Usually, noise complaints about loud aircraft from Stratford residents near the airport increase during the summer months when people leave their windows open. But this summer there hasn’t been a single noise complaint, according to Charles Bitzer, chairman of the town’s airport noise abatement committee.
Bitzer and other committee members were unable to explain it, but Sikorsky Airport certification specialist Andy Widor, who is also the airport’s noise compliance officer and its representative on the committee, said he thought the economy and fuel costs were the reason.
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At a committee meeting Wednesday, Widor said big corporations that fly chartered or company-owned jets out of the airport still have the money to do so, but mid-size companies don’t, especially since the price of jet fuel increased in 2010.
Widor said average flight operations at the airport haven’t changed much in recent years, except for that segment of the charter jet service business.
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He also noted that newer jets in use at the airport make less noise than the bigger, older jets that caused most of the complaints.
The airport is owned by the city of Bridgeport, although it is located entirely in Stratford.
Some committee members asked if the airplane accident on June 25 was the cause, but Widor said the accident and have not affected overall flight operations at Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
The accident occurred when the landing gear of a small plane snagged the top of a crash fence as the aircraft came in over Main Street for a landing. The pilot and his wife survived the crash with non-life threatening injuries.
Widor said airport officials are still waiting for the NTSB accident report and he could not say when it would be released.
Why do you think there haven't been any airport noise complaints all summer? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
