Press Releases

October 15, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital, today urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement new recommendations made by the nonpartisan General Accounting Office (GAO) in a recent report on aircraft noise in the National Capital Region.

“These GAO recommendations would lead to improved measurement of aircraft noise and community outreach, and I urge the FAA to implement them as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Beyer. “I thank GAO for their continued responsiveness to residents’ feedback about aircraft noise in the National Capital Region, which has been a major concern for my constituents since I took office. I will continue to work with FAA and other regional agencies to find ways to mitigate the effects of aircraft noise in our area.”

Beyer spoke Wednesday at a celebration marking the opening of a new terminal and security facilities at DCA, pledging during his remarks to continue seeking solutions to reduce aircraft noise in the area.

GAO issued the following recommendations to FAA as part of this report on airport noise:

“(1) identify supplemental noise metrics for use in noise impact analysis for PBN [performance-based navigation] implementation; (2) incorporate additional communication tools, such as supplemental noise metrics, into outreach; and (3) provide information on what the public can expect from FAA in its post-implementation outreach.”

The full report is available here.

Beyer has worked for years to reduce the impact of aircraft noise in the National Capital Region.