Monterey Peninsula Airport Noise

Stage 3 jets are the newest and most quiet of the jet aircraft flying today. All commercial airlines use stage 3 jets and most airlines switched to Stage 3 prior to the year 2000 deadline. At the present time stage 3 is as good as it gets.



Left, Navy Hornet, far noisier than even Stage 2.
Right, Stage 2, Lockheed JetStar, both very loud.

Stage 2 jets are older aircraft and are used by charter and business/corporate users. Banned in Europe, but still operating in the United States due to a 75,000 pound FAA exemption, stage 2 aircraft operations continue daily flights in and out of Monterey Peninsula Airport. Stage 2 aircraft are serviced by the Monterey Jet Center and Monterey Million Air, both of which are located in the southwest area of the Monterey Peninsula Airport. There is at least one stage 2 aircraft based at the Monterey Airplane Company, located on the north side of the airport near residential areas.

Stage 2 aircraft are a major contributor to takeoff noise, ground operations noise and air pollution at the Monterey Peninsula Airport. At the June 14, 2000 Monterey Airport District Board of Directors meeting, airport general manager Denis Horn revealed that eighty percent of Monterey Peninsula Airport operations involved corporate/business and charter aircraft. Mr. Horn also stated that the commercial airlines (stage 3) portion of operations accounted for twenty percent of airport operations and was declining.

Monterey Peninsula residents can count on an increase in stage 2 corporate/business and charter aircraft and a decrease in stage 3 commercial airlines, the aircraft that serve the community. Clearly, the focus of the Monterey Peninsula Airport is toward noisy, special interest business.

AVflash Vol. 6, Issue 27b Thursday, July 6, 2000
STAGE 2 JETS NO LONGER WELCOME AT FLORIDA AIRPORT: Acting on a noise consultant's recommendation, the City of Naples (Fla.) Airport Authority has voted to ban jets with FAA Stage 2 certificates from operating at the facility. The ban, if made final after a 45-day public comment period, would take effect after January 1, 2001.

Home