MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport responded to residents' noise concerns regarding a new helicopter tour operator near the corner of Howell and Layton.
In a statement Tuesday, the airport said they will be working with the tour operator, My Flight Tours which is based at AvFlight, and the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower to find options to modify flight patterns and address the concerns raised by neighbors.
"The Airport has limited authority because the FAA regulates and controls the use of airspace," Milwaukee Mitchell said Tuesday. "As a public use airport, MKE does not have the legal authority to prevent or restrict any aircraft – including helicopters – from operating here."
Alderman Scott Spiker, who represents residents of the far south side, said he's received several emails from his constituents about the noise.
“Folks are used to hearing planes all the time. But what we have here is a completely different noise signature, completely different volume, completely different duration," Spiker said.
He shared some of the emails he's gotten from residents about the noise with TMJ4.
One person wrote, "I felt like I was in a war zone. Before I knew what was happening I thought there was crime or a presidential visit… I'll be honest with you, Scott, a whole summer of this helicopter noise and I'll have to move out of the City."
Another neighbor called the noise an "incredible nuisance."
"I understand you're trying to make a buck here, but you have to be good corporate citizens with the residents," Spiker said.
But the company, My Flight Tours, said this afternoon following a press release from Alderman Spiker, that this was the first they'd heard of noise complaints.
"A call was made to our pilot and we said okay let's grab another 1,000 feet of altitude. So it was instantaneous," My Flight Tours co-owner Sergio Troiani said about the adjustments already being made. "The cool thing about helicopter tours is that we're not on a fixed flight plan like airlines or something. We can change altitudes, flight paths basically at a moment's notice."
Sergio and his wife Cassandra own the company together. It started in Detroit and they've recently expanded to Tennessee and Milwaukee. The Cream City tours started about two weekends ago.
"Milwaukee has been on the list for quite some time," Sergio said about the company's expansion.
The Troianis said noise complaints in other cities have been rare, but when they receive them, they adjust.
"We will work through some of these obstacles and hopefully alleviate any and all noise complaints moving forward," Cassandra said.
The company also encourages anyone in Milwaukee to reach out to them directly with any noise concerns. Contact information can be found on the website.
"Being able to know exactly which areas are being impacted will allow us to better alter our paths to avoid them in the future," Cassandra said.
Residents can also call the County Airport's "Noise Concern Line" at 414-747-4677, email them at info@mitchellairport.com, or complete the online complaint form.
My Flight Tours does helicopter tours only on the weekends right now, so it's unclear whether or not the adjustments they made on Tuesday have made a difference yet.
