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FAA changes Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport flight paths, but noise still a community concern

Denver7 attended a town hall at the airport Thursday that was open to community discussion where issues ongoing issues like noise remained a top concern

This year, the FAA changed flight paths at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport to "enhance air traffic safety and efficiency." But neighbors are still complaining about noise.

FAA changes Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport flight paths, but noise still a community concern

FAA changes Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport flight paths, but noise still a community concern.jpg

By: Ryan Fish

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BROOMFIELD, Colo. — For years, Denver7 has been covering the back-and-forth between Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA) and community members concerned over issues like lead pollution, safety and noise.

Read Denver7's previous coverage of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport below:

Some potential solutions have gotten off the ground this year. On Thursday, airport leaders held an open town hall at the airport terminal for community members to learn more.

“We really want to hear what the community has to say,” RMMA Director Erick Dahl told Denver7. “We have airport users who have things they want, community has things they want… How we can respect their input, and how we can enact that through the airport's overall planning initiatives?”

Dahl added, “the thing that we hear a lot right now is the change in flight paths.”

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Director Erick Dahl

In June, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adjusted flight paths, involving visual flight rules (VFR), to and from the airport to “enhance air traffic safety and efficiency.” The airport says those new routes will remain in place until at least Dec. 10, 2027. Dahl said RMMA does not have control over those flight paths.

“Any effort that increases safety at the airport or the airspace is something that we support,” Dahl said. “So if, if the FAA is confident that's what it's doing, then we will support what they're doing. We don't control it. All we can do is acknowledge what the reality is and work with that.”

Denver7 spoke with several community members who came to the town hall to voice concerns over noise, specifically referencing the increased flight school traffic involving noisier propeller planes closer to the ground.

“The activity over Louisville has increased even more than it was before the flight pattern changed,” said Louisville resident Wayne Grider. “The airplanes in the summer will start as early as 5:30 in the morning, and they're flying over us at 10 o'clock at night. It is constant and frustrating.”

The City of Louisville is working with a resident who is using software to track how much the airport’s traffic has been climbing in recent years. His data comparing the month of May during that stretch shows traffic over the city has more than tripled since 2018.

Cliff Zwart told Denver7 he is even feeling the effects of the noise living in Erie, about 10 miles from the airport.

“Even with all the windows closed and everything like that, the low frequencies just penetrate the double pane glass and come right through,” he said. “It’s not the normal traffic that's coming in every day from commercial flights or even hobbyist pilots. It's the flight schools.”

Dahl said past community feedback led the airport to launch their FAA-sanctioned Part 150 noise study. That launched earlier this year, and Dahl said noise exposure maps could come out early next year.

The entire study is expected to last around two years, which for some is too slow of a process.

“At a minimum, we're looking at probably three more years of significant air traffic, and we're not confident there will be substantive changes even after their recommendations come out,” said Grider.

Denver7 asked Dahl to address those who are hoping for a faster solution.

“We're hearing what you have to say, and we take all the input that we receive, and we communicate with the FAA,” he replied. “We communicate with our tenants. We have our quarterly voluntary noise abatement plan meetings with our flight schools, and with our airport users, to really talk about how they can operate as a good neighbor.”

Last year, the Town of Superior and Boulder County filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County — which owns and operates the airport — to try to establish noise restrictions.

This spring, a Boulder County District Court dismissed that suit, saying federal aviation law trumps the local court’s power to impose any restrictions.

The town and County are now appealing.