County Invites Public to Oct. 7 Workshop on a Newer, Quieter Runway 19R Flight Approach
Napa County is studying a supplemental approach for the airport’s Runway 19R that could steer arriving aircraft away from noisy valley corridors when the weather is clear.
NAPA: Napa County wants to hear from residents about a quieter way to land at Napa County Airport. The county will hold an in-person information workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Health and Human Services Agency Conference Center, 2751 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, to discuss a supplemental flight approach for Runway 19R intended to ease aircraft noise over valley neighborhoods when visibility allows.
The study traces back to September 2024, when the Federal Aviation Administration published a precise GPS-based instrument approach to Runway 19R. Napa County Airport Manager Mark Widtsoe has said the new procedure concentrated arrivals on a narrow north-south corridor, and residents reported a sharp rise in noise, particularly over Alta Heights and along Big Ranch Road.
Because this is such an accurate arrival procedure, the planes are generally over the same track of ground and at the same altitude, one plane after another,Mark Widtsoe, Napa County airport manager, quoted in Citizen Portal
Residents have described frequent, intrusive overflights. Alta Heights resident Alan Fagan called the jet traffic “constant, all day, every day,” while another resident, Leslie Moretti, told Citizen Portal that personal tracking over several weeks recorded as many as 68 jet flights in a single day, with planes often arriving only minutes apart.
It’s constant, all day, every day.
What the study is considering
The county’s Runway 19R Approach Evaluation is developing alternative approach concepts that could be used in fair weather to avoid sensitive noise areas, with consultants and airport staff working with the FAA’s Napa tower and Oakland center. The county cautions that there is no guarantee the FAA would accept and publish any locally proposed alternative.
The Oct. 7 workshop follows a virtual town hall held Sept. 23 and will use an open-house format, with consultants and airport staff on hand to answer questions and walk through the approach alternatives. No registration is required, and public comments are already flowing in on the county’s Connect Napa County project page, including route suggestions and reports of low-flying jets.
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