1:15pm | Long Beach Airport has experienced just over a 150-percent increase in the number of commercial aircraft violating noise ordinances for the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2009, according to the airport’s monthly statistic report.
  
In addition, total noise violations at the airport, including commercial, general aviation, charter and other aircraft are up 4.8 percent through the end of April compared to the first five months of 2009.
 
Despite the increased year-over-year percentages, the actual number of total violations compared to number of total flights remains statistically very low—130 violations out of about 130,000 flights, or about 0.1 percent of all airport flights for the calendar year to date.
  
Airport officials also point out that a significantly smaller number of violations were recorded in the comparison year of 2009, skewing the current numbers higher as a percentage, and total overall noise violations for 2010 remain below levels experienced just a few years ago.
  
While Long Beach Airport is technically open 24-hours, all airline operations must be scheduled between 7:00am-10:00pm. Operations during the 10:00pm-11:00pm and 6:00am-7:00am periods are allowed if the reason is attributable to weather, air traffic, or mechanical issues. Despite heavy discouragement by airport staff not to use the airport past 10 p.m. or before 7 a.m., the airport is not permitted to close the runways overnight.
  
However, strict decibel limits, monitored by 18 noise sensors placed around the airport area, are set by municipal code for various times of the day. The permitted decibel level allowed to be generated by aircraft taking off or landing at the airport during normal airport hours drops significantly during the 10:00pm to 11:00pm and 6:00am to 7:00am periods. The permitted levels becomes even more stringent during the 11:00pm to 6:00am period. The permitted noise levels falls so low during this last period that, according to airport officials, no commercial aircraft can operate during this time frame without violating the noise ordinances.
  
Due to these more stringent noise level restrictions, the vast majority of noise violations occur during the more restrictive 10:00pm-11:00pm, 11:00pm-6:00am, and 6:00am-7:00am time frames.
  
Aircraft owners that receive noise violations during the 10:00pm-11:00pm or 6:00am-7:00am period are subject to a $100 to $300 fine, while violators during the overnight 11:00pm-6:00am period can receive fine as high as $6,000.
  
So far this year, the airport has collected $155,200 in noise violation fines.
  
On the commercial side, JetBlue had 54 violations through the end of April, compared to just 19 during the January to April period last year. Only two of the other four commercial carriers servicing Long Beach have received noise violations this year–UPS has received four and US Airways has received one. About 50 percent of JetBlue’s violations occurred in the 10:00pm-11:00pm or 6:00am-7:00am periods, with nearly all of the carrier’s remaining violations occurring during the overnight 11:00pm-6:00am period.
  
About 0.5 percent of all commercial flights have resulted in a noise violation so far this year.
  
On the general aviation and charter side, 71 noise violations have been issued so far this year, down from 101 reported through the end of April in 2009.
  
Just over 0.06 percent of all general aviation, charter and miscellaneous flights have resulted in a noise violation so far this year.
  
Commercial traffic at the airport, including commuter services, is down 5.2 percent through the end of April to 11,876 flights. Combined with total non-commercial traffic handled at the airport, which is up 11.4 percent through the end of April, total flights at the airport for the first five months of the year are up 9.7 percent to 130,664 flights, all compared to the same period in 2009.    

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