Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-73not60
§47172 Air Traffic Procedures for Airport Capacity Enhancement Projects at Congested Airports
Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VII— AVIATION PROGRAMS › Part B— AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT AND NOISE › Chapter 471— AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT › Subchapter III— AVIATION DEVELOPMENT STREAMLINING › § 47172
Summary
The FAA can set flight paths to reduce serious noise when a busy airport adds or changes runways during environmental review. If those routes are safe and keep air traffic working well and the airport asks, the FAA can promise to include them in the approval, but it can change them later if new information or changed conditions make a safety or efficiency change necessary.
Full Legal Text
Title 49, §47172
Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may consider prescribing flight procedures to avoid or minimize potentially significant adverse noise impacts of an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport that involves the construction of new runways or the reconfiguration of existing runways during the environmental planning process for the project. If the Administrator determines that noise mitigation flight procedures are consistent with safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace, the Administrator may commit, at the request of the airport sponsor and in a manner consistent with applicable Federal law, to prescribing such procedures in any record of decision approving the project.
(b)Notwithstanding any commitment by the Administrator under subsection (a), the Administrator may initiate changes to such procedures if necessary to maintain safety and efficiency in light of new information or changed circumstances.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out an
Effective Date
of 2003 Amendment note under section 106 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
49 U.S.C. § 47172
Title 49 — Transportation
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60