WILMINGTON — Wilmington International Airport is conducting its first-ever federally authorized noise study and welcoming community feedback at an upcoming meeting.
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A workshop will be held May 15 at 5 p.m. at Snipes Gymnasium, 2150 Chestnut St. The goal is for community members to learn more about the study’s process, ask questions and provide feedback at the open house.
The Part 150 Noise Compatibility Study, backed by the Federal Aviation Administration, was spurred following local complaints of excessive aviation noise, particularly from military aircraft. The airport, located off 23rd Street, is surrounded by neighborhoods near downtown, Blue Clay Road and Murrayville areas.
One resident from nearby Smith Creek Estates told Port City Daily last year some of the aircraft flying overhead sounded like “a pressure washer hitting your ears [that] lasted about 3 to 4 minutes as they approach for landing, floating.”
Based on ILM data, military traffic averages 11,000 to 11,500 flights per year, with an all-time high recorded in 2021 with 14,245 flights.
The military and FAA’s Wilmington-based Air Traffic Control Tower signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 to implement decreased noise procedures at Wilmington International Airport. Military aircraft often utilize ILM to refuel; the MOU maintained military aircraft approach landings at a higher altitude of 2,500 feet or more and kill afterburners to help mitigate resident concerns.
This led to a one-sixth decrease in noise complaints from January 2022 to 2023, PCD previously reported.
Last week Jeff Bourk, ILM executive director, told commissioners at a joint airport authority meeting that military traffic at ILM declined slightly in the last year.
“And I think that’s really just due to deployments around the world,” he said. “Not really anything changing, though it could be phasing out some of the older aircraft as well.”
As part of the study, FAA software will track decibel levels to locate noise and how far out it exceeds into other corridors. An airport planning firm, Coffman Associates, Inc., is assisting the New Hanover County Airport Authority on analysis and documentation of results, as well as recommendations.
A Planning Advisory Committee will work with representatives and stakeholders, including HOAs, airport tenants, community planners and federal, state and local agencies, during the study to review progress.
ILM received a little more than a million dollars from the federal government and the airport is contributing over $100,000 for the study’s completion. It applied for a noise study grant due to ILM’s excessive growth.
Last year, the airport had a 21% increase in passengers (1.3 million), a 70% increase in nonstops (now totaling seven), and 15% increase in operating revenue ($16.4 million), Bourk told commissioners last week. It brought ILM to the fourth-fastest growing airport in the country.
He expressed anticipation of the airport surpassing 1.5 million passengers this year, equaling 50% growth since 2021. Bourk said if the study comes back that ILM is exceeding noise levels, procedures will be developed to address it, which could include sound-proofing homes.
“I don’t expect that to happen,” he added, “but if it does, we’ll take care of it.”
According to an information document posted online about the process, another strategy would be to encourage zoning designations “in undeveloped areas where aircraft noise is projected to remain” and is “compatible with the noise and operation of an airport, such as agricultural, commercial, or industrial.”
“What the study is going to validate — we’re 95% sure — is that there isn’t anybody negatively affected other than someone that just doesn’t like any noise,” Airport Authority Secretary Jason Thompson told commissioners. “We can’t do anything about that. But these studies are going to show that we’re going to have empirical data, everything’s good to go here. And we’re not disrupting, per any standards, anybody’s quality of life.”
The study will be completed between 18 and 24 months.
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