Metroplex was one of more than 20 similar programs initiated by the FAA throughout the United States with the goal to make airspace safer and more efficient.  That goal was to be achieved by transitioning from ground-based navigation aids to global positioning satellite technology (GPS) to guide aircraft as they take-off and land.   

When arriving at an airport, commercial jets are, absent other factors, required to fly a “Standard Instrument Departure Procedure” (SID).  When departing from an airport, commercial jets are, absent other factors, required to fly “Standard Terminal Arrival Routes” (STAR).  SIDs and STARs are like highways in the sky and designed to keep aircraft separated from one another vertically and horizontally.  The transition to GPS-based navigation aids combined with changes in onboard flight management systems enable a pilot to conform more closely to a SID or in their lane.  To maximize the benefits of GPS technology, the FAA had to review existing SIDs and STARs and consider adjustments to flight paths. 

The FAA prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) of potential impacts of the shift to GPS based procedures and any flight path adjustments. In the case of JWA,  the FAA evaluated some SIDS and STARS consistent with then current mandated procedures and others that were different.  The City studied the data and found many commercial aircraft did not use the required SID or STAR.  Aircraft can vary from a required SID or STAR when safety would be jeopardized but that could not explain the large number of aircraft that failed to use required procedures.   

The City filed a lawsuit against the FAA to challenging their Metroplex decision because the EA and Record of Decision (ROD) gave the FAA broad discretion to adopt a JWA SID or a STAR quite different from the long-standing procedures in place before Metroplex. While the FAA repeatedly stated that this was not its intention, the City was concerned a new SID or STAR could significantly increase the number of commercial jets overflying Laguna Beach and at lower altitudes. For example, a SID that replicated the practice of “cutting the corner” would have resulted in a dramatic increase in overflights and noise – preventing our residents from benefitting from the significant reduction in overflights achieved because of the settlement. 

After the City filed its lawsuit, the FAA did what they said they were going to do – they adopted a SID (called PIGGN) for aircraft traveling from JWA to most destinations east of Las Vegas that was, and is, virtually identical to the pre-Metroplex SID. Commercial jets flying the entire PIGGN cross the coast south of Laguna Beach at over 10,000 above ground level. 

Once the City had an opportunity to study the Metroplex decision and confirm the related reduction in overflights assuming compliance, the City Council decided that the best approach for Laguna Beach residents was to maximize the use of PIGGN SID. So, the City Council negotiated and approved an agreement to settle the FAA lawsuit that has the following primary components:

• Commits the FAA to require commercial jets to fly the full PIGGN SID unless a different route is necessary to protect aircraft safety.
• Prohibits use of the challenged EA to make any significant changes to any SID or STAR that could impact Laguna Beach. The FAA would need to prepare a new NEPA compliant document prior to making any such change.
• Requires FAA consideration of a City proposal to revise a procedure used by commercial jets on arrival to JWA during Santa Ana wind conditions; and
• Provides for the FAA to prepare and transmit flight information that will enable the City to determine if aircraft are in fact being required to fly the full SID.

The City has been, until the onset of the pandemic, closely monitoring compliance with the FAA agreement and will resume frequent now that commercial jet operations at JWA have increased to more than 50% of pre-Covid levels.

The City has taken advantage of all the FAA Settlement Agreement provisions. 

First, the City made sure that the FAA provided the information regarding PIGGN compliance that was promised in the Settlement. 

Second, when the FAA’s commitment expired, the City monitored compliance using the JWA “Flight Tracker” and information obtained from the JWA Noise Office.

Finally, once the FAA Settlement Agreement was final, the City retained the airspace consultant (who worked on the Settlement Agreement) to study potential alternatives to the ROOBY STAR – the procedure used by aircraft on arrival to JWA from the east during Santa Ana conditions.  The consultant’s scope of work limited the analysis to options that did not increase aircraft noise experienced by any Laguna Beach resident.  Over the next 18 months the consultant analyzed relevant flight track data, researched FAA requirements, discussed options with FAA personnel during two conference calls and modeled various alternatives.  The Consultant identified one feasible alternative and prepared a comprehensive report that was submitted to the FAA.  However, the FAA decided the proposed alternative would increase controller workload and could result in safety issuing two conference calls.  The City and consultant reviewed the FAA’s response and concluded their decision was supported by substantial evidence. 

Laguna Beach and Newport Beach both settled their Metroplex lawsuits. Each agreement focuses on issues of most importance to that community, and each prevents the FAA from using the EA and ROD to make significant changes to any SID or STAR that might impact either City. In the case of Newport Beach – which is located so that overflights of commercial jet from JWA are largely unavoidable – the settlement agreement focuses on procedures that will minimize the aircraft noise impact on the residential communities around Upper Newport Bay. For example, the Newport Beach agreement requires the FAA to test a new two-turn departure procedure while aircraft are flying over Upper Newport Bay (to more closely conform to the natural contours of the shoreline) rather than the one-turn procedure currently in use. In the case of Laguna Beach, our settlement agreement minimizes aircraft noise impacts by requiring commercial jet aircraft to fly the full PIGGN and contains assurances the FAA will consider our proposal to modify the ROOBY STAR – the STAR that aircraft from the east coast use during Santa Ana winds.

 Newport Beach also obtained assurances that the Metroplex EA and ROD will not have any impact on the John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement (JWA Settlement Agreement), which is a benefit to all of Orange County. In summary, the Newport Beach agreement does not adversely impact Laguna Beach and our agreement does not adversely impact Newport Beach.

If you want to get information on a specific flight or flights that occurred at a specific time you can get that information on “flight track viewer” which can be found at https://jwaflighttrackviewer.airportnetwork.com/.   Aircraft flight tracks are displayed either in satellite or street map layers and includes airline, aircraft type, and altitude. Aircraft without an origin or destination at JWA are shown in yellow, departures from JWA are shown in blue and arrivals at JWA are shown in pink.

JWA has an outstanding discussion of many aircraft noise issues on their website and you can access that at: https://www.ocair.com/about/administration/access-noise/access-noise-  Even though not specific to JWA, there is a good discussion about both noise and decision making related to noise in an article published by Minneapolis Airport that can be found at https://macnoise.com/sites/www.macenvironment.org/files/pdf/factsheet-1-who-makes-the-decisions.pdf.

If you have additional questions, please contact the City’s airport expert, Jeremy Frimond, Senior Administrative Analyst at jfrimond@lagunabeachcity.net.

Absolutely not. The City Council and staff believe the FAA settlement is extremely important in terms of preserving the reductions in overflights achieved during the past few years. However, the City Council also believes that those reductions must be preserved.  The City Council has, historically, taken actions with respect to aircraft noise at JWA, that fall into the following categories:

• Monitoring compliance with the FAA Settlement Agreement;
• Preserving and extending, subject to acceptable terms and conditions, the JWA Settlement Agreement,  
• Preserving the County Ordinance that imposes a noise-based curfew on air carrier and air cargo aircraft. 
• Unless a condition to the extension of the JWA Settlement Agreement is otherwise acceptable to the City, opposing: (i) any expansion of the JWA footprint: (ii) any extension of the air carrier runway; (iii) the addition of new passenger loading bridges; or a material modification of the area on the airfield devoted to general aviation facilities.
• Encourage commercial air carriers to purchase or lease more of the much quieter new generation aircraft such as the Boeing 737-MAX and Airbus 319/320/321neo. The departure noise levels of these aircraft – one of which is now operating at JWA – are approximately 5 dB lower than other commercial jets operating at JWA. These aircraft also are more fuel efficient and emit fewer pollutants than other aircraft in the fleet. The combination of reduced noise generating characteristics, fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions should prove attractive to air carriers. We will also encourage other Orange County communities – many of which are impacted by noise from JWA commercial operations – to do the same.

There are very few exceptions to the JWA aircraft noise curfew (which applies to commercial and general aviation operations) and many of the commercial aircraft that overfly Laguna Beach have an origin and destination other than JWA. Commercial aircraft flying over Laguna Beach after 10:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m. are probably flights arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport. The origin and destination of these flights can be confirmed by checking with the flight track viewer https://jwaflighttrackviewer.airportnetwork.com/

Laguna Beach is part of a larger urban area that has numerous airports, and some aircraft noise is to be expected. However, if you experience noise that is disturbing and want to file a complaint, you can email the FAA’s Noise Ombudsman at 9-awpNoise@faa.gov or call 424-405-8020.  You should provide specifics regarding your complaint including dates and times of the flight creating the noise. This information can be found at https://jwaflighttrackviewer.airportnetwork.com/.  The “flight track viewer” will provide you information regarding aircraft type, altitude, flight track and the airport of origin and destination. Aircraft flight tracks are displayed either in satellite or street map layers.

You can also contact the JWA Noise Office by calling (949) 252-5185 or by sending an email to NoiseInfor@ocair.com. Please remember that the County, even though they own JWA, has no control over aircraft in flight. The County does, however, strictly enforce the noise limits at John Wayne Airport (JWA), the General Aviation Noise Ordinance (GANO) and other regulatory documents that govern noise and capacity issues at JWA. The GANO imposes restrictions on general aviation operations. JWA also records, researches, and responds to noise complaints and requests for information from the community. Before contacting JWA please check with the flight track viewer to be sure the flight involves aircraft operating from JWA (shown in pink or blue on the viewer) and secure as much information as possible about the flight.

Please go to the FAA “Hotline” and follow the instructions for at                 https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/aae/programs_services/faa_hotlines/. 

FAA approved procedures for all airports in the SoCal Metroplex region are at:  https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/community_involvement/socal/media/New_Procedures_John_Wayne-Orange_Country_Feb_2017.pdf.

Information about fight tracks of aircraft departing from or arriving at JWA – both in real time (delayed 1 hour) and in the past can be found at https://jwaflighttrackviewer.airportnetwork.com/

In 1985, the County of Orange (as the owner of JWA), Newport Beach, and two Newport Beach community groups approved the JWA Settlement Agreement. The JWA Settlement Agreement resolved a federal court lawsuit challenging the validity of an Orange County of environmental document for a major terminal expansion project. The JWA Settlement Agreement survived Congressional legislation – the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA) - designed to make it practically impossible for airport owners to limit the number of aircraft using the facility based on noise they generate.

The JWA Settlement Agreement and two major amendments approved since 1985, contain provisions that reduce aircraft noise impacts on surrounding communities including the following:

• Gave the City and community groups a “veto” over any changes to a County curfew ordinance that prohibits, on the basis of noise, commercial air carrier departures and arrivals during certain hours of the day and night;
• Established average daily limits on the number of operations of commercial jet departures based on aircraft’s departure noise-generating characteristics; and
• Established limits on the number of annual passengers served.

The JWA Settlement Agreement was most recently amended in 2014.  , which extended the veto over changes to the curfew until 2035. The curfew prohibits noisy commercial jet aircraft from departing JWA before 7:00 a.m. (8 a.m. on Sunday), departing after 10:00 p.m. or arriving after 11:00 p.m. The recent amendments also authorized phased increases in average daily departures and passenger service levels.  A summary of the phases and the limited increases is shown below.

JWA is the most heavily noise regulated commercial airport in the nation, and the City  supports the efforts of Newport Beach and the community groups to maintain their protections far into the future. The JWA Settlement Agreement, ANCA, and the entire subject of aircraft noise restrictions is a complex. A brief explanation of ANCA and why the JWA Settlement Agreement is so important is in the following section.  More information can be found at http://www.ocair.com/aboutjwa/accessandnoise/faq-noise.

The JWA Settlement Agreement and two major amendments approved since 1985, contain provisions that reduce aircraft noise impacts on surrounding communities including the following:

• Gave the City and community groups a “veto” over any changes to a County curfew ordinance that prohibits, on the basis of noise, commercial air carrier departures and arrivals during certain hours of the day and night;
• Established average daily limits on the number of operations of commercial jet departures based on aircraft’s departure noise-generating characteristics; and
• Established limits on the number of annual passengers served/