Republic Airport sees fewer complaints

The latest report from Republic Airport in East Farmingdale shows a sharp decrease in complaints as well as a recent uptick in flights.

At an airport commission meeting Tuesday, airport manager Mike Geiger said noise complaints had dropped to 44 for April, May and June from 123 for the same three-month period in 2010. Complaints for the month of June alone decreased to 14 from 29 last year. Geiger said most complaints had stemmed from a safety construction project that is now wrapping up.

The number of landings for the three months declined to 9,552 from 10,622 in 2010, but were up for the month of June to 3,429 from 3,294. The number of touch-and-go landings also increased for June to 1,558 from 1,359 last year. Geiger attributed the numbers to bad spring weather, which has since improved, and stabilized fuel costs. He also reported that with the "vision plan" open house last week, the airport is moving closer to having a plan for future development. A consultant will look at the input from the open house and other meetings, he said, and develop scenarios for the public, something Geiger said he hopes will be done by the end of the year.