FAA Seeks Nominations for Aircraft Noise Advisory Committee
iSpyVNY news - July 11, 2026
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is accepting nominations for membership on the Aircraft Noise Advisory Committee (ANAC), a federal advisory body the agency established after Congress directed the FAA to create it through the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register July 10, nominations must be received by Aug. 10, 2026. Individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by an organization. The committee will advise the FAA on issues related to aircraft noise exposure and existing federal aircraft noise policies and regulations.
The FAA formally established the Aircraft Noise Advisory Committee on Jan. 14, 2025, pursuant to Section 792 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63). That provision directed the FAA Administrator to establish the committee within 180 days of the law’s enactment. The FAA filed the committee’s charter in January 2025, satisfying the statutory establishment requirement under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Approximately 18 months later, the agency is now seeking nominations to appoint members and begin the committee’s advisory work.
The committee's responsibilities include:
- Evaluating existing research on aircraft noise impacts and community annoyance.
- Assessing alternative aircraft noise metrics that could supplement, modify or replace the FAA's current Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) metric, in consultation with the National Academies.
- Evaluating the FAA's longstanding 65 DNL threshold, including how changes could affect land-use compatibility around airports.
- Reviewing current aircraft noise mitigation strategies and FAA community engagement related to changes in airspace utilization, including Performance-Based Navigation (PBN).
- Performing other aircraft noise-related duties assigned by the FAA Administrator.
The FAA says the committee will include representatives from airport-adjacent communities, airlines, airports, aircraft and engine manufacturers, advanced air mobility manufacturers or operators, and institutions of higher education. Members will serve two-year terms.
On its Noise Policy Review website, the FAA states that Section 792 requires the agency to form ANAC to advise the FAA on issues related to aircraft noise exposure and existing FAA noise policies and regulations. The committee will provide recommendations as the agency evaluates aircraft noise research, noise metrics and community impacts.
The broader review follows years of community concerns associated with aircraft noise and changes in flight procedures, including those implemented through the FAA’s modernization of the National Airspace System. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported that, although newer aircraft are generally quieter, aircraft noise remains a concern for some communities and that changes in flight procedures can generate public concern. GAO has recommended that the FAA improve its efforts to address community concerns regarding aircraft noise.
LOCAL IMPACT: LAX, BUR, VNY
In the Los Angeles region, aircraft noise concerns intensified after the FAA implemented NextGen procedures in Southern California. Disputes over FAA flight procedures led to multiple legal challenges involving Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY).
LAX: In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the City of Los Angeles and Culver City in part, finding that the FAA had failed to complete required environmental reviews for amended arrival routes associated with the Southern California Metroplex project; the court remanded the matter to the FAA for further review while leaving the routes in place.
The City offered no feasible alternative and despite the win, no modification to the flight path was made. The airport’s departure path, known as the LADYJ, did not receive legal attention from the city, leaving residents in the San Fernando Valley—including those in Calabasas, Woodland Hills, and West Hills—to seek relief through efforts initiated by the LAX Community Noise Roundtable. Those efforts are ongoing.
BUR: The City of Los Angeles also challenged FAA actions involving Burbank Airport departure procedures, but that petition was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit after the court determined it lacked jurisdiction over the FAA action being challenged as a final order.
Separately, a local community group filed another lawsuit on October 2, 2025. UproarLA, LLC v. Federal Aviation Administration (Case No. 25-6211) challenges the FAA's environmental review of Hollywood Burbank Airport's southern departure flight paths. The lawsuit, currently in the briefing stage in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, alleges the FAA disregarded community input regarding increased noise from NextGen route changes.
VNY: Separately, Save Our Skies Los Angeles (SOSLA), a group of residents affected by FAA departure procedures at Van Nuys and Burbank airports, challenged the FAA's implementation of the HARYS FOUR departure procedure at Van Nuys and the SLAPP TWO procedure at Burbank. In 2022, the Ninth Circuit denied and dismissed the petition, holding that the substantive challenges were untimely under the applicable statutory filing deadline.
SO WHAT’S NEXT
Under the committee’s statutory duties, ANAC will consult with the National Academies while evaluating potential alternatives to the FAA’s current aircraft noise metric.
The FAA said the committee is expected to meet at least twice each year, primarily through virtual or hybrid meetings.
Nomination packages must include the nominee's contact information, stakeholder category, a brief biography, a letter of support from an eligible organization and a statement confirming the nominee meets the committee's eligibility requirements. The FAA requests that submissions be limited to two pages.
Nominations must be submitted by Aug. 10, 2026, via email to aircraftnoiseadvisorycommittee@faa.gov.