FAA clears use of special flight procedures ahead of privatization of East Hampton Airport
The Federal Aviation Administration said it “is working closely with the town of East Hampton so all federal regulations are followed to ensure the safety of the airspace” at the town airport in Wainscott. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
East Hampton Airport will have all the “safety and operational capabilities” it currently has when it reopens as a private facility next month, the town said this week.
The Federal Aviation Administration on April 22 approved the town’s application for special flight procedures, which are essentially detailed steps to get to and from the runway during inclement weather, the town said Tuesday in a news release. Pilots must have prior approval and FAA authorization to use the special procedures.
The town plans to deactivate the public airport in Wainscott at 11:59 p.m. May 17 and then reopen it as a private facility at 9 a.m. May 19 as a means of instituting local restrictions to curb years of noise complaints.
The town is legally able to close the facility after federal mandates expired in September. A new facility with a “prior permission required” model for takeoffs and landings was presented as a compromise between those who want the airport closed permanently and pilots and their advocates who oppose that.
The FAA released a statement Wednesday saying the agency “is working closely with the town of East Hampton so all federal regulations are followed to ensure the safety of the airspace.”
Jeff Smith, vice president of operations for the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, an industry group, said questions over things like weather reporting and routes will “curtail our ability to fly noise abatement routes.”
“Our mission now is to get our members the new procedures as quickly as possible so that they can train their crews prior to implementation on May 19,” Smith said in a statement. “At the same time, we will be working with our operators and other airports that will see the onslaught of new traffic that will be diverted to them.”
Nearby airports include Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach and Montauk Airport.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
