About the Issue
The FAA has developed an airspace redesign plan that will re-route flight paths in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia regions over several communities in Connecticut and New York. The plan is intended to reduce flight delays at regional airports. But it was developed without undergoing the approved review process for airspace plans. In fact, the FAA violated the federal charter governing environmental review, failed to consider the impact on affected communities, and has created serious concerns about air and ground safety, environmental impact, and quality of life in our communities.
• Air and noise pollution will increase in dozens of communities across Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,
affecting as many as 29 million people. In fact, our communities would experience a three-fold increase in noise pollution.
• Under the FAA plan, the hundreds of flights that arrive each day into La Guardia Airport from the north will be rerouted over Fairfield
County, Connecticut and northeastern Westchester County, New York.
• Planes passing over our communities would fly closer together and at lower altitudes, potentially compromising air and ground
safety.
As a result of the FAA implementing a flight path redesign plan without following due process, AfSAP filed a lawsuit against the FAA in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the communities affected by this redesign. To view a PDF of AfSAP's legal filing, click here.
In addition, Governor Rell and Attorney General Blumenthal have filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which intends to block a new FAA flight path plan affecting the state of Connecticut.
Both the state of Connecticut and AfSAP are working together to keep the FAA from moving forward with its plan. Together we are working to show Congress that, while we all support safe and efficient air travel, we do not support the FAA’s ill-conceived and ill-constructed airspace planning.
The FAA should re-examine the airspace redesign plan with a focus on both following appropriate due process and addressing the legitimate concerns of the affected communities. If the FAA attempts to move forward with the current plan, Congress should intervene to halt implementation, review the process used to develop the redesign, and require the agency to address the plan’s real impacts on our communities.
AfSAP Educational Brochure
AfSAP Educational Brochure
Track Flights Over Your Town
Just click on one of the following web-sites:
www.flightaware.com/live
www4.passur.com/hpn.html
www4.passur.com/lga.html
These programs will allow you to follow current flights, retrieve historical data or capture current information such as the time, date, usually the type of aircraft and destination.
Press Releases
Press Release: Airspace Alliance Launches Website, January 2, 2008
Press Release: Airspace Alliance names Chairman, Officers, December 4, 2007
Press Release: Attorney General Asks U.S. Senate To Demand Rewrite Of Flight Paths As Condition Of FAA Head Confirmation December 19, 2007
Press Release: CT Officials Join CT Airspace Alliance, November 1, 2007
Issue Testimony
Comments to FAA on April 6, 2007
Comments to FAA on April 24, 2007