As I’ve previously mentioned, the FAA has agreed to a 6-month test period, during which Surf Air flights are being redirected more over Sunnyvale in the hopes of an overall reduction in air traffic noise (the logic being that more time spent over water is less time spent over people). After that six month period, the FAA will be reviewing the complaints received to determine if it is appropriate to make the redirection permanent.
We’ve been informed that a citizens group calling itself “Calm The Skies” has launched a blatantly dishonest attempt to skew the results of the test period and bias the findings. This group is calling for a “moratorium” on resident noise complaints, so as to ensure that the FAA finds that the redirection over Sunnyvale “generated fewer complaints”. This group is basically placing its fingers on the scale, in order to change the outcome of what was supposed to be a fact-based study of the changes caused by the flight diversions. Simply put, they don’t care about “best practices”. They just want to toss their garbage over the fence into Sunnyvale’s yard, and they want to trick the FAA into making it legal to do so.
I’ve seen no evidence that this “organization” is anything more than one guy with a WordPress site, although other advocates have interacted with the people behind it. Nevertheless, I would encourage Sunnyvale residents to contact “Calm The Skies” and voice your opinion of their conduct and tactics.
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