Neighbors say noise from Norwood Airport has become unbearable
NORWOOD - A longtime Norwood resident is fed up with the noise from a nearby regional airport.
"It has been nice and quiet until mid-May," said Diane Wiffin. "Then, it was like living near Logan Airport."
Wiffin lives about a half-mile from Norwood Memorial Airport and said over the past several months, the noise has become unbearable.
"Since mid-May until now, there have been 6,000 planes flying overhead," she said.
Too many for this little neighborhood, Wiffin explained. The noise begins around 7:30 a.m. into the early evening.
"Many of my neighbors work at home, so it is disruptive. And it's every day, seven days a week," she said.
"We're one of the busiest airports in the state believe it or not," Norwood Memorial Airport manager Mark Raymond told WBZ-TV.
He said construction at Norwood Memorial Airport forced crews to redirect flights over Rock and Winfield streets. The demand for flight training has also skyrocketed.
"The airlines are desperate for pilots," Raymond explained. "A lot of people are learning to fly hoping to be employed by the major airlines."
Desperate for some peace and quiet, Wiffin and her neighbors gathered dozens of signatures. They even attended airport commission meetings, begging officials to reconsider the flight pattern to no avail.
One neighbor is concerned about more than just the noise.
"I also have two young kids and I worry about the air pollution is increasing because of the increased amount of flights, the increased air traffic. That's a concern for us."
Those who run the regional airport told WBZ-TV their hands are tied. It's up to the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, to make these decisions.
"Unfortunately for us, we don't have authority over the airspace. It's not that we don't want to do anything - we can't do anything," Raymond said.
Norwood isn't the only town upset about the airplane noise. Neighbors in Milton have complained for years about the flight patterns from Boston's Logan International Airport.
Norwood Memorial Airport, the airport commission and frustrated neighbors plan to meet on Wednesday, February 15 to discuss their concerns and possible solutions.