Airport working to cut noise as complaints mount

The Calgary Airport Authority says it's working on a plan to cut down on noise in the face of mounting protests in some parts of the city.

Noise complaints have spiked since a new north-south runway opened in June, introducing flight paths over some communities that didnt used to see much traffic.

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Members from more than 20 community associations were at the airport Thursday night to hear how the Calgary Airport Authority might address their concerns.

According to Rundle resident Richard MacAlpine, the noise has become deafening.

I'll give you an example. I was standing on my deck with a belt-sander and the plane went overhead and I honestly had to stop and look at my sander and go, 'Is this broken? It's not working. And then as the plane left, I could hear it again.

The problem seems to be that planes now fly directly over his house. That could be solved if they took off at a different angle, he said.

Airport spokeswoman Jody Moseley said the airport is working on that.

Well, we are limited by regulation, but there are a few things that we're looking at as different potential options, she said.

One of them is how can we get them up higher before they leave. And the other one is can we get them to turn a little bit less.

MacAlpine said he is willing to wait for a solution to be found, as long as the airport is committed to following through.

I would have liked to see some firm timelines. They should have been doing some of these things from the beginning, he said.