Calgary airport noise complaints being addressed, says spokesperson

Noise complaints have increased dramatically from about 233 individual calls to roughly 1,500since a new runway opened at the Calgary airport last June.

"What we're seeing with some of our calls that are coming in now, are people who are calling multiple times,"Calgary Airport AuthorityspokespersonJody Moseleytoldthe Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray on Thursday.

"[About] 51 per cent of our stats are from repeat callers. We did have an individual that made several calls over a few months 300 to 400calls a month from one individual."

Moseley said the new runway has brought new flight paths andaircraft to different areas of the airport, andincreased noise complaints with it.

She noted the airport authority has been working with several groups, includingcommunity associationssurrounding the airport, to addressconcerns.

Moseley saidNavCanada will oversee a change to the flight paths ofYYC aircraftstarting in April.Nav Canada must first publish the change in its documentation for everyonewho uses the airport traffic system.

"What we're trying to do is get aircraft to go a little bit higher and a little bit straighter, and that really keeps them as close to industrial paths as possible," she said.

The safety requirement currentlyforYYC aircraft is to divert 15degrees from each other to ensure aircraft don't collide. The change will reduce that requirement to 10degrees.