Airport noise commission holds special meeting Nov. 29

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) will hold a Special meeting this week on November 29 at 10:15 A.M. at the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) General Office Building at 6040 28th Avenue South. Participants can also join remotely using Microsoft Teams or by calling (612) 405-6798 and pressing 858 155 437#.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is developing new Area Navigation (RNAV) departure procedures for MSP to meet current federal flight procedure criteria and as a result of the decommissioning of the current, ground-based aircraft navigation system, in place at MSP (the MSP VOR, or Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range).

The FAA is working with aviation stakeholders to replace the VOR’s function for MSP, enabling departing aircraft to fly routes that enhance safety and efficiency. The proposed RNAV departure procedures are designed to use multiple headings on departure, using similar headings as aircraft do today, to disperse traffic above the airport’s surrounding communities to the extent feasible. However, new procedures cannot be exactly the same as current procedures due to federal criteria changes as well as differences between ground based and RNAV procedures.

The NOC established an RNAV Procedure Review Sub-Committee at their September 20, 2023 meeting. The Sub-Committee met for the first time on October 30, 2023 and received an overview of the proposed procedures and proposed public engagement efforts from the FAA. At that meeting, the FAA shared that the NOC has an opportunity to provide preliminary recommendations regarding the procedures or how the FAA is proposing to engage the public. The NOC's preliminary recommendations are due by February 1, 2024. The FAA encouraged the Sub-Committee to submit recommendations as they were available. The Sub-Committee met again on November 20, 2023 to discuss potential recommendations to provide to FAA.

At the November 29 meeting, the NOC will receive an update on this topic, review draft recommendations and take action to forward recommendations to the FAA.

The NOC is an advisory board to the MAC and is comprised of industry and community representatives who address aircraft noise issues associated with activity at MSP. The group typically meets on the third Wednesday of odd-numbered months.

The agenda for this meeting may be found here and meeting materials for all NOC meetings may be found on our NOC webpage.