I am writing to express my deep concern over recent changes to the flight patterns which now bring numerous plans, headed to OGG, directly over our home here in Ha`ikū.
For as long as I can remember, the skies over Ha`ikū were largely free of the loud, disruptive noice of air plane traffic. Sadly, we have been robbed of this peace, once a key feature of our wonderful life here. Please understand that the impact of these changes are dramatic to our quality of life: I woke up at 3 am last night to the sound of a plane flying overhead (and I’m not a light sleeper) and three plans have flown over head in the time it’s taken for me to draft this message. It is hard to fathom a justifiable explanation for why a decision was made to allow for a seemingly constant string of airplanes fly over a residential area. It feels as though our community has been taken advantage of - I don’t recall any attempt to engage our community or assess the impact of this new flight path on our community.
As a representative of our district, I hope that you will advocate for a return to the peace and quiet we all deserve. There are clearly other routes possible, as this is a new issue for us, and if the cause of the switch was financial, which I suspect it is, it does not seem fair or right that it should be at our expense.
Mahalo nui for receiving this testimony and working to represent the interests of your constituents!
Aloha,
I am a local Fulltime Hawaiian resident who actually lives in Ma’alaea. You say you represent local people in one breath then in another,(and you know who you are) comment that people in Ma’alaea are a bunch of rich folks that live in the mainland making a lot of money vacation renting! Well, it’s time you stand up for the locals who live here in Ma’alaea! Support wastewater infrastructure that will help the environment, and stop the hundreds of planes from flying low, putting landing gear down too early, creating very loud noise and pollution causing health & safety issues. I am not rich, but saved every penny to purchase here, and paying more and more every year, struggling to keep up. Please put pressure on the FAA and support locals in Ma’alaea!
Mahalo
Leialoha Lei Makamae Shannon L VanderHeuvel, Lauloa 402
The Ma'alaea Village used to be a peaceful, quiet area in terms of air traffic over our community. My family has owned a condo in Ma'alaea since 1977,and at time of purchase and for many years after there was no flight path of incoming aircraft directly over our residential area. Over time that has changed, and for many years now our community has been subject to
frequent daily day and night low level incoming flights. Those loud low flying planes interrupt normal conversations, can be heard by folks on the other end of a phone conversation, disrupt television programs, wake one from a peaceful sleep, etc. This past Saturday, in the span of 1.5 hours over 10 planes flew over an outdoor gathering, interrupting conversations on the ground in each instance. The repeated low flights directly over the entire community pose a health and environmental risk in terms of the noise level we must endure and the pollution from the engines that rains down on us.
Past flight patterns came in over Ma'alaea Bay and then turned to continue over the uninhabited Kealia Pond. Please request the FAA and the airlines to return to that original flight pattern, so that Ma'alaea may again achieve the peace and quiet it once enjoyed.
Mahalo for your time, and for your concern and commitment to a healthy environment for everyone!
Mahalo Nui Loa!
My wife and I own a condo in Maalaea Yacht Marina and have for 22 years. We enjoy living there very much and sharing it with family members who sometimes visit us. However, in recent years the noise from incoming planes has become very disruptive. There are, I am told, over 200 flights a day landing at the airport, and most fly directly over Maalaea with wheels down and flaps up, making noise so loud one cannot here others talk or hear the TV or radio. It is also quite disruptive of sleeping as a number of flight come in during regular sleeping hours. We have tried to get attention to this growing problem, but so far nothing has been done, and the number of flights promises to increase even more in the future. We are grateful that this issue has been added to this agenda and hope that the Committee can succeed in getting attention to this matter from elected officials and the FAA, which seems to have ultimate authority (and which has been ognoring requests from OGG officials).
The Ma'alaea Village Association has been attempting to get the FAA's attention to excessive noise generated by flights directly over Ma'alaea for the past four years, requesting that flights either avoid Ma'alaea completely, or designate Ma'alaea as a "noise sensitive area" with mandatory noise abatement procedures. Local airport officials have been sympathetic, but the FAA will not respond to MVA's requests for a constructive meeting to discuss MVA's requests. There are already approved flight paths that avoid directly passing over Ma'alaea, without affecting other communities on Maui. There are even flight paths that are shorter in distance. Today, the FAA requires most flights to make a very long approach over the ocean, burning more fuel and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions while passing directly over Ma'alaea up to 250 times per day. Last week, MVA appealed to the major airlines serving Maui to request the FAA for changes that would implement the shorter flight path, with its shorter flight duration, a savings in fuel, and a reduction in GHG emissions. This is a win-win situation for everyone. But more pressure needs to be applied to the FAA to get them to act. MVA wholeheartedly supports Resolution 22-74 and commends the Maui County Council for its efforts to help resolve this issue. See attached file for MVA's letter to airlines. Mahalo, Lyndon Ibele, MVA President
As I have expressed to Maui Councilman Molina and Congressman Kahele, as well as the FAA, the recent changes in air traffic over Ha’iku have greatly impacted our lives for the negative.
Just anecdotally, as I was working in the yard yesterday, 3/19/22, I decided to count the planes that flew overhead. In the course of one hour, I counted 11 large passenger jets. They flew directly overhead, so low that individual windows and airline logos could be identified. There were also several smaller aircraft, including a helicopter. We have lived at this address since 2009, and this never used to be the case. On average, there are 10-15 commercial flights an hour flying low and loud over our rural community, which is over 12 miles from the airport (OGG).
My understanding is that prior to the pandemic, flights were routed over the water. This clearly makes more sense. Part of why we chose to live in this rural setting is to enjoy the quiet — the sounds of the rain, the wind in the trees, the birds. If we were looking to move to the neighborhood now, I would opt out.
We ask that the FAA — for whatever governing body is in charge — return to the prior flight patterns. There is no reason, other than perhaps a small savings in fuel costs, why flights can't fly over the water and then bank in over agricultural land (just past Maliko). If not this, aircraft should fly at a MUCH higher elevation. Expedience too often trumps the experience of local residents. Whatever the rationale was in changing these flight paths, it clearly didn’t reflect the wishes of the residents of Ha’iku. There was no community outreach. There was no notification this would happen. Here are specifics questions that have yet to be answered by any of our local, state of federal representatives:
1) Why were the routes changed after the pandemic slow-down, so that they now fly low, loud and consistently over our community, which is located more than 12 miles from the airport?
2) Prior to the flight route changes, were residents notified? Certainly nobody in our ‘ohana and/or acquaintances in our community knew of a change. Can the FAA just do that, without any community outreach?
3) What, specifically, are you doing to mitigate this problem? Either the flights need to return to their prior route, or they need to fly at a MUCH higher elevation.
Again, I would encourage all of our representatives in government to look at a flight traffic website. You’ll see that (seemingly) all flights from the mainland to OGG fly directly over Ha’iku and our property: https://flightaware.com/live/airport_status_bigmap.rvt?airport=PHOG
Please email or call with any questions.
Many thanks,
Stefan Schaefer
stefan@cicalafilmworks.com
808-575-5222
In the months following Maui’s Covid-19 shutdown, the lower Haiku area has been hit by an increasing stream of airline traffic/overflights. Since 2019, the North Shore has become an airline superhighway as planes cut the corner and fly directly over Huelo, Haiku and upper Paia/lower Makawao. On a given day, up to 10 planes per hour pass over our home off lower Kokomo with the stream beginning in midmorning and continuing until close to midnight. Air Cargo flights also routinely fly over in the dead of night. The end result is a diminished quality of local life and reduced property values due to noise and air pollution as well as a hindrance to livelihoods as we, like many of our neighbors, farm our property and keep livestock. It is most disappointing that legislative action is now needed to undo an FAA action that was instated without any public notice and/or scoping in the first place.
I am in favor of not allowing helicoptor tours over Haleakala National Park. In addition, I believe the flight paths from OGG to the big island should stay over the ocean. Currently many of these flights take off to the north and then turn back to fly low over Paia/Kuau/Haiku, It would not require a big change in the route to do this.
Take off landing approaches used prior to the changes made July 2019 should be reinstated. The current commercial air traffic over Haiku is obnoxious and 24/7. Planes are flying low over Haiku at all hours of the day and night. The FAA seems unconcerned and unresponsive to complaints. We are considering filing a class action lawsuit if the issue is not addressed immediately. FAA needs to stop doing the airline's bidding and make them go back to the old take off and landing approaches over the isthmus and ocean that mitigate the noise pollution we are currently enduring.
Aloha e dear elected Council Members,
I am writing to express my deep concern over recent changes to the flight patterns which now bring numerous plans, headed to OGG, directly over our home here in Ha`ikū.
For as long as I can remember, the skies over Ha`ikū were largely free of the loud, disruptive noice of air plane traffic. Sadly, we have been robbed of this peace, once a key feature of our wonderful life here. Please understand that the impact of these changes are dramatic to our quality of life: I woke up at 3 am last night to the sound of a plane flying overhead (and I’m not a light sleeper) and three plans have flown over head in the time it’s taken for me to draft this message. It is hard to fathom a justifiable explanation for why a decision was made to allow for a seemingly constant string of airplanes fly over a residential area. It feels as though our community has been taken advantage of - I don’t recall any attempt to engage our community or assess the impact of this new flight path on our community.
As a representative of our district, I hope that you will advocate for a return to the peace and quiet we all deserve. There are clearly other routes possible, as this is a new issue for us, and if the cause of the switch was financial, which I suspect it is, it does not seem fair or right that it should be at our expense.
Mahalo nui for receiving this testimony and working to represent the interests of your constituents!
With aloha,
Chenta Laury
Aloha,
I am a local Fulltime Hawaiian resident who actually lives in Ma’alaea. You say you represent local people in one breath then in another,(and you know who you are) comment that people in Ma’alaea are a bunch of rich folks that live in the mainland making a lot of money vacation renting! Well, it’s time you stand up for the locals who live here in Ma’alaea! Support wastewater infrastructure that will help the environment, and stop the hundreds of planes from flying low, putting landing gear down too early, creating very loud noise and pollution causing health & safety issues. I am not rich, but saved every penny to purchase here, and paying more and more every year, struggling to keep up. Please put pressure on the FAA and support locals in Ma’alaea!
Mahalo
Leialoha Lei Makamae Shannon L VanderHeuvel, Lauloa 402
Aloha Councilmembers,
The Ma'alaea Village used to be a peaceful, quiet area in terms of air traffic over our community. My family has owned a condo in Ma'alaea since 1977,and at time of purchase and for many years after there was no flight path of incoming aircraft directly over our residential area. Over time that has changed, and for many years now our community has been subject to
frequent daily day and night low level incoming flights. Those loud low flying planes interrupt normal conversations, can be heard by folks on the other end of a phone conversation, disrupt television programs, wake one from a peaceful sleep, etc. This past Saturday, in the span of 1.5 hours over 10 planes flew over an outdoor gathering, interrupting conversations on the ground in each instance. The repeated low flights directly over the entire community pose a health and environmental risk in terms of the noise level we must endure and the pollution from the engines that rains down on us.
Past flight patterns came in over Ma'alaea Bay and then turned to continue over the uninhabited Kealia Pond. Please request the FAA and the airlines to return to that original flight pattern, so that Ma'alaea may again achieve the peace and quiet it once enjoyed.
Mahalo for your time, and for your concern and commitment to a healthy environment for everyone!
Mahalo Nui Loa!
My wife and I own a condo in Maalaea Yacht Marina and have for 22 years. We enjoy living there very much and sharing it with family members who sometimes visit us. However, in recent years the noise from incoming planes has become very disruptive. There are, I am told, over 200 flights a day landing at the airport, and most fly directly over Maalaea with wheels down and flaps up, making noise so loud one cannot here others talk or hear the TV or radio. It is also quite disruptive of sleeping as a number of flight come in during regular sleeping hours. We have tried to get attention to this growing problem, but so far nothing has been done, and the number of flights promises to increase even more in the future. We are grateful that this issue has been added to this agenda and hope that the Committee can succeed in getting attention to this matter from elected officials and the FAA, which seems to have ultimate authority (and which has been ognoring requests from OGG officials).
Thanks very much!
Jim Richardson
Maalaea Yacht Marina, #310.
The Ma'alaea Village Association has been attempting to get the FAA's attention to excessive noise generated by flights directly over Ma'alaea for the past four years, requesting that flights either avoid Ma'alaea completely, or designate Ma'alaea as a "noise sensitive area" with mandatory noise abatement procedures. Local airport officials have been sympathetic, but the FAA will not respond to MVA's requests for a constructive meeting to discuss MVA's requests. There are already approved flight paths that avoid directly passing over Ma'alaea, without affecting other communities on Maui. There are even flight paths that are shorter in distance. Today, the FAA requires most flights to make a very long approach over the ocean, burning more fuel and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions while passing directly over Ma'alaea up to 250 times per day. Last week, MVA appealed to the major airlines serving Maui to request the FAA for changes that would implement the shorter flight path, with its shorter flight duration, a savings in fuel, and a reduction in GHG emissions. This is a win-win situation for everyone. But more pressure needs to be applied to the FAA to get them to act. MVA wholeheartedly supports Resolution 22-74 and commends the Maui County Council for its efforts to help resolve this issue. See attached file for MVA's letter to airlines. Mahalo, Lyndon Ibele, MVA President
Please stop flying over Haiku!
Aloha Elected Council Members,
As I have expressed to Maui Councilman Molina and Congressman Kahele, as well as the FAA, the recent changes in air traffic over Ha’iku have greatly impacted our lives for the negative.
Just anecdotally, as I was working in the yard yesterday, 3/19/22, I decided to count the planes that flew overhead. In the course of one hour, I counted 11 large passenger jets. They flew directly overhead, so low that individual windows and airline logos could be identified. There were also several smaller aircraft, including a helicopter. We have lived at this address since 2009, and this never used to be the case. On average, there are 10-15 commercial flights an hour flying low and loud over our rural community, which is over 12 miles from the airport (OGG).
My understanding is that prior to the pandemic, flights were routed over the water. This clearly makes more sense. Part of why we chose to live in this rural setting is to enjoy the quiet — the sounds of the rain, the wind in the trees, the birds. If we were looking to move to the neighborhood now, I would opt out.
We ask that the FAA — for whatever governing body is in charge — return to the prior flight patterns. There is no reason, other than perhaps a small savings in fuel costs, why flights can't fly over the water and then bank in over agricultural land (just past Maliko). If not this, aircraft should fly at a MUCH higher elevation. Expedience too often trumps the experience of local residents. Whatever the rationale was in changing these flight paths, it clearly didn’t reflect the wishes of the residents of Ha’iku. There was no community outreach. There was no notification this would happen. Here are specifics questions that have yet to be answered by any of our local, state of federal representatives:
1) Why were the routes changed after the pandemic slow-down, so that they now fly low, loud and consistently over our community, which is located more than 12 miles from the airport?
2) Prior to the flight route changes, were residents notified? Certainly nobody in our ‘ohana and/or acquaintances in our community knew of a change. Can the FAA just do that, without any community outreach?
3) What, specifically, are you doing to mitigate this problem? Either the flights need to return to their prior route, or they need to fly at a MUCH higher elevation.
Again, I would encourage all of our representatives in government to look at a flight traffic website. You’ll see that (seemingly) all flights from the mainland to OGG fly directly over Ha’iku and our property: https://flightaware.com/live/airport_status_bigmap.rvt?airport=PHOG
Please email or call with any questions.
Many thanks,
Stefan Schaefer
stefan@cicalafilmworks.com
808-575-5222
In the months following Maui’s Covid-19 shutdown, the lower Haiku area has been hit by an increasing stream of airline traffic/overflights. Since 2019, the North Shore has become an airline superhighway as planes cut the corner and fly directly over Huelo, Haiku and upper Paia/lower Makawao. On a given day, up to 10 planes per hour pass over our home off lower Kokomo with the stream beginning in midmorning and continuing until close to midnight. Air Cargo flights also routinely fly over in the dead of night. The end result is a diminished quality of local life and reduced property values due to noise and air pollution as well as a hindrance to livelihoods as we, like many of our neighbors, farm our property and keep livestock. It is most disappointing that legislative action is now needed to undo an FAA action that was instated without any public notice and/or scoping in the first place.
I am in favor of not allowing helicoptor tours over Haleakala National Park. In addition, I believe the flight paths from OGG to the big island should stay over the ocean. Currently many of these flights take off to the north and then turn back to fly low over Paia/Kuau/Haiku, It would not require a big change in the route to do this.
S. Sussman, Haiku
Take off landing approaches used prior to the changes made July 2019 should be reinstated. The current commercial air traffic over Haiku is obnoxious and 24/7. Planes are flying low over Haiku at all hours of the day and night. The FAA seems unconcerned and unresponsive to complaints. We are considering filing a class action lawsuit if the issue is not addressed immediately. FAA needs to stop doing the airline's bidding and make them go back to the old take off and landing approaches over the isthmus and ocean that mitigate the noise pollution we are currently enduring.