Washington, DC—The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today welcomed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a lawsuit involving airport noise and access restrictions in East Hampton, New York. GAMA had filed an amicus brief in the case, Friends of the East Hampton Airport et al. v. Town of East Hampton, arguing that the town had to follow federal procedures under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA) to implement curfew and trip limits.

“Today’s decision by the Second Circuit is an important recognition that East Hampton’s laws are preempted by ANCA, which applies to all public airports,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “In our brief, we argued that by violating the ANCA requirements, the town’s restrictions undermine the development and use of quieter aircraft technologies that help to reduce noise nationally. We are glad the court agreed by upholding a national noise policy. Given the strong reasoning of the decision, we hope other courts will follow the important precedent set today.”