Local News

Chicago Executive Airport Looks Into Soundproofing Homes

July 31, 2017 / 5:03 PM CDT / CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling says it will soon submit documents to the FAA, which could lead to help for area residents whose lives are disrupted by noise from flights in and out of the airport.

Consultants for Chicago Executive Airport recently finished mapping areas most impacted by noise from the nearly 80,000 flights in and out of the airport each year, according to the airport's spokesman, Rob Mark. Consultants finished putting together what's known as "airport noise contours."

He says that, soon, that map will be submitted to the FAA, which airport officials hope gets approval.

Approval would give residents in the most severely impacted noise zones the ability to qualify for help with soundproofing insulation.

Chicago Executive Airport operates 24-hours a day. Mark says a majority of the complaints about noise are the result of flights that occur between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. And, while Mark says there are only a "few flights" in those overnight hours, he admits you "only need one at four in the morning to wake you up."

Mark says if the FAA approves the newest noise map from Chicago Executive Airport, individual residents would be eligible to apply for relief. The FAA would then put noise monitors in the homes of those residents to determine if they qualify for soundproofing insulation.

Chicago Executive is Illinois' third busiest airport.

Bernie Tafoya