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Lindbergh Flight Path To Change Next Month

A jetliner flies over a home on Third Avenue near downtown San Diego that was recently renovated with $72,000 worth of new windows, doors and ventilation systems to lesson the noise of airplane traffic, Feb. 26, 2015.
Susan Murphy
A jetliner flies over a home on Third Avenue near downtown San Diego that was recently renovated with $72,000 worth of new windows, doors and ventilation systems to lesson the noise of airplane traffic, Feb. 26, 2015.

Lindbergh Flight Path To Change Next Month
Lindbergh Flight Paths To Change Next Month GUEST:Ian Gregor, public affairs manager, Federal Aviation Administration Pacific Division

The FAA is moving forward with the new flight path for San Diego international and San Diego arts groups get into the spirit of Halloween. This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. It is Friday, October 20. Our top story we are just weeks away from finding out if the new flight path out of San Diego international Airport is the improvement the federal aviation administration is hoping for. Some residents are still -- still skeptical at a meeting last night. The agency said those concerns are -- should be addressed by the flight path going into effect on November 10. I spoke with Trent -- Ian Gregor . Thank you for having me. How much is this flight path different from the when they got so much criticism when the FDA proposes last year? We unveiled our Southern California Metroplex proposal in 2015. We had a number of public workshops on it and 120 public comment period during which we received more than for thousand comments. We ended up making a number of changes to the proposed project as a result of the comments that we received and one change was in San Diego. We took a departure route out of Lindbergh. We made that change specifically in response to the public comments that we received from San Diego area residents. Has that taken the edge of some of the concerns that they're expressing? I think the feedback that we have received from people including at last night's public workshop was that they are happy with that change and they felt that their voices were heard and their voices were in fact heard. The comments last night they were eager to see what actually happens when we implement the new route on November 10. At the meeting they did have a share of controversy but a lot of it seems to revolve around flights that are cutting across regions of Point Loma that they should not across, is that a fair assessment? We had about 150 people show up and the majority of the people were curious about what the changes that we were going to implement would do to address their system noise concerns. We did hear from a number of people that they are running back along Point Loma. What are they going to do about these road flight paths? I would not describe it that way. What we try to do is hear the public route as much as possible. There are always instances when they have to direct aircraft off publisher routes for safety or for sequencing. So we hope that the change we made next month is going to address some of the concerns and we are committed to continue to work with the community to address any ongoing concerns. We are participating in the airport noise committee so that we can interface directly with coming to representatives to hear their concerns and explain what is going on from our perspective and if possible take their concerns back and see what could be a done. Beside San Diego international what other airports in the region are getting new flight paths? We are implementing the project in phases over the next few months between November 2016 and April 2017. We do have some new routes planned for Palomar and for Brownfields and a few other facilities. Remind us why this is happening. Southern California Metroplex project is a comprehensive plan to improve the flow of air traffic into and out of Southern California by replacing the conventional air route so -- that it bit them place for decades with words that are based on cottage satellite technology. The advantage of satellite technology is it is very flexible and allows us to create more direct routes and allows us to create routes that are automatically separated from each other because the way things work today in areas of the country is in places different air routes converge and occupy the same airspace so air-traffic controllers have to issue instructions to pilots to keep aircraft separated. With satellite technology, we can build routes that are separated automatically from one another. That cuts down on the communication between policy and controllers and creates a more efficient and a safer system. Satellite technology also enables us to create routes that have direct unrestricted climes and direct unrestricted defense because anyone who flies knows that the traditional dissent you dissent from cruising out to to do and then you level off and then the plane speeds up and then you dissent begin and level off. It is like walking down the stairs. It is noisy and not efficient. With satellite technology, we can build the sense that allow planes to essentially glide down almost all the way to the airport from cruising altitude on idle speed and not result in a dissent that burns a lot less fuel. So it inmates fewer emissions and it also -- the plane is in a quieter configuration. They are not speeding up and deploying air brakes so the airplane makes less noise. Are there any more community meetings Plan B for the new flight path goes into effect for San Diego international? We are having a meeting in San Diego in Spring Valley on Tuesday, November 1 and then with each -- as I said, we are implementing the project in phases between November 2016 and April 2017. We would do additional briefings before each face. I've been speaking with Ian Gregor public affairs manager. Thank you.

Lindbergh Flight Path To Change Next Month
Changes to Lindbergh Field's flight path are set to take effect on Nov. 10.

Changes to Lindbergh Field's flight path are set to take effect on Nov. 10.

The changes are part of the Southern California Metroplex project.

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The Federal Aviation Administration held a meeting Thursday night to inform residents about the changes. Ian Gregor, the public affairs manager for the FAA's Pacific Division, said about 150 people attended the meeting.

"The comments that we got last night were they're eager to see what actually happens when we implement the new route," Gregor said.

Another meeting will be held Tuesday in Spring Valley.

We speak to Gregor on Midday Edition Friday about the upcoming changes to Lindbergh's flight path.