Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY) is located in the towns of Edgartown and West Tisbury, Massachusetts and is operated by the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission (MVAC). MVY accommodates a broad range of aircraft activity from general aviation to military, on-demand charters, and scheduled commercial airline service. The airport experiences one of the strongest seasonal peaks in air traffic with nearly 50 percent of all annual air operations during a three-month period (June, July, and August) due to the island being a premier seasonal tourist destination.1
The airport serves as one of the two primary modes of transportation to and from the island, the other being the Steamship Authority ferry. The MVAC has conducted a Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 150 Study (14 CFR Part 150,
or Part 150; herein referred to as “the Study” or “Part 150 Study”) at MVY to quantify noise exposure from aircraft operations and assess compatibility of land uses around the airport. This Part 150 Study assesses noise exposure resulting from an existing baseline level of activity (2023) and a future forecast level of activity anticipated to occur in 2028. The Study is part of the broader effort to address noise levels created by aircraft operations and covers a study area that includes MVY and the surrounding communities.
A Part 150 Study includes two principal elements:
* The Noise Exposure Maps (NEMs) and their associated report describe the airport layout and
operation, aircraft-related noise exposure, land uses in the airport environs, and the resulting
noise/land use compatibility situation. Part 150 requires that NEM documentation address aircraft
operations during two time periods:
* the year of submission (2023) and
* a forecast year that is at least five years following the year of submission (2028).
* The Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) is a description of the actions the airport proprietor proposes
to undertake to minimize existing and future noise and land use incompatibilities. This Study includes
an assessment of the current noise abatement program at MVY known as “Fly Friendly,” but will not
include an NCP. As shown on the NEMs, there are no non-compatible land uses at MVY; therefore, the
MVAC has not developed an NCP at this time for MVY.
History of Noise Abatement at MVY
In 2003, MVY established a noise abatement program with voluntary measures to reduce the effect of
aircraft noise on surrounding communities. The MVAC has chosen to participate in the Part 150 program
as a continuation of its efforts to manage noise created by aircraft operations at MVY. The airport adopted a voluntary noise abatement program (the Fly Friendly program described on the airport’s website), which encourages pilots to be respectful when flying to and from MVY. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits mandated restrictions of flight paths, hours of operation, and undue prohibition of open access to airports, with exceptions for airports that had restrictions in place prior to a 1990s congressional act. Therefore, the noise abatement program at MVY can only be
voluntary.