Auburn, AL Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Aircraft noise is not regulated by Auburn's Code of Ordinances, and as a matter of law it generally cannot be. The Federal Aviation Administration has preemptive authority over aircraft in flight and over the navigable airspace, so cities are barred from setting their own in-flight noise limits, flight paths, or curfews. Auburn University Regional Airport (the city's general-aviation airport) operates under FAA rules, and any noise-abatement procedures there are voluntary, FAA-coordinated measures rather than city ordinances. As a result, Auburn's code contains no decibel limits, curfews, or penalties aimed at aircraft. Residents with aircraft-noise concerns are generally directed to the airport or to the FAA's noise program rather than to city code enforcement, because the city lacks jurisdiction over aircraft operations. The only noise the city itself can act on near an airport is ground-based for example, unreasonable noise from vehicles or equipment on the ground which, like all other Auburn noise, would be evaluated under Alabama's disorderly-conduct 'unreasonable noise' standard rather than an aviation-specific rule. In short, there is no Auburn aircraft-noise ordinance because federal law occupies that field.