The Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on South Flow Arrivals was authorized by the San José City Council on October 3, 2017. The Committee was established to explore possible solutions to address the noise impacts on residents when weather conditions over the airfield require the Airport to operate in a “south flow” configuration (when aircraft land from the north of the Airport instead of the usual landing from the south). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in noise complaints about south flow operations because of:
- more days requiring south flow configuration;
- south flow wind conditions lasting longer and;
- the greater concentration of arriving flights.
The charge of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on South Flow Arrivals is to:
- gather input, concerns, and comments from the general public on the south flow issue.
- Identify and discuss possible measures to address the procedure’s noise impacts.
- Recommend potentially “feasible” options for FAA consideration.
In establishing the Ad Hoc Committee, the City Council adopted the following operating guideless:
- All cities and the County of Santa Clara are invited to participate. Participation is voluntary, not mandatory.
- Each jurisdiction will have one vote, except the City of San José, which will have two votes. Votes will be cast by the jurisdiction’s primary representative or, if the primary delegate is unable to attend, the jurisdiction’s alternate representative.
- No recommendation can be adopted that impacts a city that is not represented on the Committee.
- Any recommendation to be advanced to the FAA requires the support of two-thirds or more of the Committee membership.
- The FAA has the sole authority to determine if a proposed measure is considered “feasible.”
- Airport staff will draft the final report for Committee approval.
- The Committee has 120 days to complete its review.