Please join me on Wednesday, July 17 at 7 p.m. for a virtual community meeting about the latest plans to reduce aircraft noise impacts for communities south of the Reagan National Airport (DCA). Vianair, an airport noise consulting firm, was hired by Fairfax County, the City of Alexandria and Prince George’s County to develop recommended changes to the current airspace and flight procedures to decrease aircraft noise and enhance the quality of life for those living south of DCA.

At the community meeting, Vianair will present an overview of the study, along with details on the analysis and assessment completed so far. There will also be time for the community to share their thoughts or concerns and to have questions answered by the project team. 

In addition to attending the community meeting, I highly encourage those of you who live near DCA’s airplane flight paths to share how you are impacted by aircraft noise by taking Vianair’s community survey (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mountvernon/airplane-noise).  

Community feedback will play an important role in identifying current noise impacts and shaping the final recommendations that will ultimately be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for study and possible action.

While changing existing flight paths and procedures does not happen overnight (and many of you know we have been working on this for years now), we are headed in the right direction for our community. Next steps for the noise study include additional community meetings, the release of recommended changes and a series of reports and presentations that will come before the final recommendations are presented to the FAA next year.

You can learn more about the noise study and how to get involved on Vianair’s project website: https://www.vianair.com/soa/. A recording of the community meeting will be shared online, along with the presentation, within a few business days after the meeting.