The FAA has approved new flight paths for Naples Airport to enhance safety, increase efficiency and reduce noise.
The new paths will begin Thursday.
Naples Airport partnered with Hughes Aerospace, an FAA-authorized third-party evaluator, to identify modifications aimed at mitigating aviation noise. The changes include steeper descent slopes for airplanes and higher altitudes for holding patterns over less populated areas like the Gulf and the Everglades.
“These types of modifications typically take years to design, test and implement, and many proposals never receive FAA approval,” said Chris Rozansky, executive director of the Naples Airport Authority.
Rozansky emphasized the importance of the collaboration with Hughes Aerospace in achieving these changes and highlighted the airport's commitment to aviation safety and being good neighbors by enhancing safety and preserving neighbors’ quality of life.
The Naples Airport Authority has invested more than $10 million into noise abatement initiatives since 2000. The airport banned the noisiest jets in 2005 and has maintained a voluntary curfew with a 98.7% compliance rate.
Pilots will start using the new procedures on Wednesday and will be required to follow the FAA's higher-altitude approach.