By David Harry
Staff Writer

Portland International Jetport traffic is expected to increase, but its director says quieter times are still coming for South Portland residents affected by aircraft noise.
Paul Bradbury told about 20 people gathered for a June 29 informational meeting at South Portland City Hall he expects a million people to use the airport annually soon after Southwest Airlines begins service next winter and a new flight path may reduce noise.
The meeting was organized by Councilor Alan Livingston, one of two city council members on the noise advisory committee formed by Portland City Council more than 20 years ago.  Livingston and South Portland resident Margaret Shaw are part of the committee that also includes airport and airline representatives.
Bradbury said the increase from about 850,000 passengers who currently use the airport might occur more quickly than the original projection of 2018. However, he projects the maximum number of passengers is unlikely to exceed 1 million, even after airport expansion projects are completed.
The $75 million airport expansion adds 137,000 square feet and three additional gates to the 155,000-square-foot facility, Bradbury said. The project will be completed this fall and was funded through surcharges on airline tickets and taxes on jet fuel, Bradbury said.
Federal Aviation Administration approval of a new, radio-guided path for arriving and departing aircraft will alleviate aircraft noise over the city, including the Willard Beach area, Bradbury said. The path takes aircraft over Peaks Island as opposed to some city neighborhoods.
Jennifer Dunfee, who is in charge of airport security and communications, said the new flight path is identical to the approach pilots use for visual landings.
The visual path method is limited to daylight hours with a cloud ceiling of at least 3,000 feet.
“The pilots are literally looking out the window,” Dunfee said.
The radio-guided procedure can be used with a cloud ceiling as low as 600 feet. A cloud ceiling of that height indicates severe weather such as blizzards, when visibility is limited, Dunfee said.
Bradbury said he is uncertain when the new flight path will gain agency approval. The change will require comment from pilots and airline officials before it can be enacted.
He said it should be no more than five years before all commercial aircraft are equipped to use the approach and departure pattern over Peaks Island.
“It’s an 18-step process and we are in step three or four,” Dunfee said.
Dunfee said airport flights are routed to leave and depart to and from the west when possible because the flight path is over industrial areas instead of residential neighborhoods. Arrivals and departures are turned to the east when afternoon sea breezes reverse wind currents.
While approaching aircraft can be rerouted to fly over Peaks Island, Bradbury said residents will always be aware when the airport is most active.
“When windows are open in the summer, we are busiest. It’s an unfortunate part of the equation,” Bradbury said.
City Councilor Maxine Beecher said residents of Redbank and Brick Hill in South Portland also are unhappy because departures on a smaller airport runway seem to be consistently routed over the residential area near Gorham Road.
Bradbury said the smaller runway is used when crosswinds are prevalent, but the east-west runways are used much more often.
Portland City Councilor Ed Suslovic said more than 97 percent of commercial flights use the longer, east to west runway. However, Suslovic said neighbors are unhappy when smaller cargo planes use the north-south runway.
“That’s when my phone starts ringing, too,” he said. “But I personally don’t see the traffic getting much lower there.”
The next meeting of the noise advisory committee is Aug. 18 at the Jetport.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219.