Fly Quiet Program

This voluntary program is designed to encourage aircraft operators to use "fly quiet" flight patterns and procedures that reduce noise in the communities surrounding Portland International Jetport. Weather conditions at time of flight determine if a flight is eliglble to use Fly Quiet patterns and procedures, and any flight in noncompliance is included in Noncompliance Reports sent semi-monthly to the local Air Traffic Control Tower and Noise Advisory Committee for review. Although flight behavior is at the discretion of the pilot and the air traffic controller, these reports are used to identify ways to encourage and increase compliance of our noise-mitigating flight patterns and procedures.

Next Noise Advisory Committee Meeting: 

***Open to the Public***

Thursday, January 30, 2025- 6-7:00pm

PWM Main Conference Room and Hybrid

Zoom Link To Meeting

Passcode: 352408

Or One tap mobile :

+13052241968,,86831716355#,,,,*352408# US
+13092053325,,86831716355#,,,,*352408# US

Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

+1 305 224 1968 US
+1 309 205 3325 US
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 931 3860 US
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Webinar ID: 868 3171

New Flight Procedures being developed by Jetport

A new instrument flight procedure is being developed that will help keep planes over water, and it should be available to airlines by January 2026. This goal of this procedure is to remove the RNAV Visual approach over Peaks Island and to reduce the number of daytime and nighttime flights using the ILS approach over South Portland.

Understanding Flight Compliance/Noncompliance

Image of Flight Tolerance Corridor to be added soon

The Noise Abatement Program identified which flight procedures to use for noise mitigation and the required weather minimums for their use, and the Jetport has drawn a flight tolerance corridor that will account for variances in the precision and accuracy of a flight track with the aircraft and technology that is available. (The flight tolerance corridor will become narrower as new technology is developed.) Time of day and weather conditions around the Jetport determine when a flight is eligible to use these noise mitigating procedures. A flight that is eligible is considered noncompliant when it fails to use the procedure and stay within the flight tolerance corridor. Looking at the map below, any flight that departs to the east is considered noncompliant if it does not stay within the red lines of the tolerance corridor, and any flight arriving from the east when weather conditions allow use of an over-water procedure is considered noncompliant if it crosses any of the three red lines.

Monitoring Flight Noncompliance

The Jetport actively monitors compliance of flights using the established noise mitigation procedures during the noise sensitive hours of 10pm-7am and for flights operating east of the Jetport. Each flight taking a track over residential areas when it could have been avoided is included on a Flight Noncompliance Report and will trigger a review by Operations and the Tower. These lists are designed to replace the need for submitting noise event complaints. Noncompliance trends are discussed at Noise Advisory Committee meetings.

Link to Noncompliance Report Packages

Link to be added soon

Generated semi-monthly and include the following reports:

Departure Noncompliance – Early South Turn
Departure Noncompliance – Early North Turn
Noise Sensitive Hour Flight Noncompliance
HVA/RNP Flight Noncompliance – Reason Unknown
HVA/RNP Flight Noncompliance – Reason Known (flights using the established SW RNAV
RNP Water Approach Flight Noncompliance – Reason Unknown
RNP Water Approach Flight Noncompliance – Reason Known (flights using the established SW RNAV)

NOTE: Until the new over water instrument procedure (RNP) is implemented and active, only the flights listed for HVA/RNP Flight Noncompliance – Reason Unknown will be reviewed. The other HVA/RNP and RNP reports will be used to verify that airlines are trending over to the new procedure.

Using Vector’s Flight Track Monitoring System (FTMS)

Flight tracks of aircraft in the vicinity of the Jetport can be viewed online for any period of time outside of a 10-minute security delay. Although the Noncompliance Reports serve as lists of “noise complaints” for aircraft unnecessarily flying over residential areas, there may be other noise events that are not captured in the Noncompliance Reports. Complaints may be submitted online for these events and Operations will follow up on those outside of compliance reporting or incorrectly excluded from a noncompliant report.

Link to How to File a Noise Complaintfor noise events not captured in Noncompliance Reports.
Link to File a Noise Complaint using Vector’s FTMS
Link to Interpreting Flight Information displayed by Vector’s FTMS
Link to How to Replay Flight Tracks using Vector’s FTMS

Accessing current weather conditions and primary runway setting

Automated ATIS information line at 207-775-1039
Online METAR information
Learn more about aviation METAR reports

Working With Our Neighbors

The Portland International Jetport recognizes that neighborhoods surrounding PWM are affected by noise from aircraft operations. The Noise Advisory Committee (NAC) provides an official forum for collaborative discussion of airport noise issues and other related matters. Local jurisdictions and the City of Portland appoint the 12-member committee to represent residential and business concerns. The NAC was organized in 1988 as an official City of Portland advisory committee on aircraft noise issues.

The NAC members review noise abatement projects, provide input for the implementation of the current Portland International Jetport Noise Compatibility Plan, develop ideas and recommend proposals for consideration in future airport noise plans, participate on advisory committees involved in long-range airport facilities and capital improvement planning, and promote citizen understanding of airport noise issues.

Noise Control at the Jetport - A Brief History

In June of 1988, the City of Portland initiated a federally funded noise study for the Jetport and the nearby community. As a result, noise exposure maps (NEMs) were completed and submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 1989. The FAA accepted them in March 1990 and the Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) was approved in September 1990. Seventeen of the eighteen operational recommendations contained in the NCP were approved, and the remaining one was partially approved.

Although most of the recommendations were implemented, circumstances have changed since then, including the number of flights and the types of aircraft operating here. Because of these changes and the length of time since our last noise study, the airport noise advisory committee requested that we update our noise study.  The FAR PART 150 update was completed in March 2006.