D.C. CIRCUIT REJECTS FAA FLIGHT PLAN FOR PHOENIX
September 22, 2017
In a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on August 29, 2017 rejected flight path changes at Phoenix Sky Harbor proposed by the FAA under the agency’s NextGen program. In making this determination, the court questioned how regulators can appropriately evaluate the potential noise impacts of more-direct flight trajectories, and cited concerns with several aspects of FAA’s consultation process with the city, including a failure by FAA to formally notify relevant stakeholders in Phoenix of the proposed route changes and a propensity by FAA to engage only with low-level Aviation Department employees. The Court also found that the FAA’s decision to avoid an in-depth analysis of the flight plan changes (which would have boosted new traffic over certain parts of Phoenix by 300 percent) was “arbitrary” because the public was not afforded an opportunity to get involved in the analysis. FAA has noted that it “will carefully review the decision before deciding on [its] next steps.”
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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