The O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC) has approved a weekly nighttime runway rotation plan for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
The Fly Quiet Runway Rotation Plan has been developed by the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) after consulting with the CDA and Suburban O’Hare Commission (SOC) aviation experts.
The programme aims to mitigate noise pollution for Chicago and its suburban regions.
Each 12-week period might comprise one runway each for arrival and departure or one mixed-use runway, which is used for both arrivals and departures.
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ONCC chair and Mount Prospect Mayor Arlene A. Juracek said: "What we accomplished today fulfils our mission for regional aircraft noise mitigation.
"The Runway Rotation Plan doesn’t burden one community. If we failed to get the vote we would have been stuck with the status quo and our members should not be satisfied with that outcome."
Under the plan, specific runways will be used for the majority of flight arrivals and departures at the airport.
Communities that are close to the flight paths of these specific runways are most heavily affected by noise at night.
The programme will therefore allow the airport’s designated nighttime arrival and departure runways to be rotated every week.
The CDA will present the plan for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while the six-month test programme is expected to commence in mid-2016.
Once the test phase is completed, ONCC will decide if the Interim Fly Quiet Programme can be deployed at the airport, until the closure of Runway 14R/32L.
Image: The plan will allow the designated nighttime arrival and departure runways at O’Hare to be rotated every week. Photo: courtesy of Piotrus.
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