Medford, Somerville Ask: What's The Deal With Airplane Noise?

MEDFORD, MA — Leaders in three greater Boston communities are calling on transportation officials to ease up on the use of a runway at Logan Airport that is "disrupting" life for some residents. In a joint statement this week, Medford Mayor Stephanie M. Burke, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Cambridge City Manager Louis DePasquale said some residents in their cities have been "severely impacted" by repetitive jet noise, often starting as early as 5 a.m.

Officials pointed to a flight pattern procedure implemented in 2013 they say "unfairly and disproportionately" exposes residents to airplane noise from runway 33L. They urged Massport and the Federal Aviation Administration to consider a procedure that "geographically disperses noise in a fairer, more equitable way."

"We recognize that hyper-concentration of jet noise represents an emergent public health problem for people who live in our cities, especially those that live directly under the flight paths," the statement read in part.

As an urban airport, Logan's runways point in all directions and flights go over "many communities," according to Massport spokesperson Jennifer B. Mehigan. The organization acknowledged that despite reductions in aircraft noise, it continues to be an issue in some communities.

Massport and the FAA coordinated a study in 2016 to address concentration issues as a result of NextGen, the modernization of the air traffic system that sent flights on more direct routes between airports. Runway 33L departures are part of Block 2, the second set of procedures being studied, Mehigan wrote in an email to Patch.

The Massport Community Advisory Committee, a group of 35 communities that includes members from Medford, Somerville and Cambridge, were informed about 33L departures in June, according to Mehigan. The committee will make recommendations to Massport and the FAA when alternatives are finalized, Mehigan wrote.