A recent study by one of the country’s top management consulting companies made clear that even as the number of narrow-body aircraft at National has increased over the past 10 years, the average noise level has not. This is because of continued advances in aircraft engine technology that have made new aircraft significantly quieter than previous generations.
This study further confirms the quote in the article from the Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport spokesman: “We are not aware of significant airspace changes in the past few years that would impact the number of callers.” This undercuts claims by a small group of residents that noise has somehow increased. It has not.
However, that’s not to say National’s operations aren’t harming our region. In fact, because of the outdated perimeter rule, which artificially restricts long-distance air travel, National has the distinction of having the highest carbon footprint per passenger of all top metropolitan airports, and the region has the highest domestic ticket prices among all top airports in the country. Perhaps those are complaint categories the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority should start tracking.
Read More: Opinion | Airplane noise won’t get worse with more flights at National