Birmingham's noise ordinance expressly exempts noise from the operation of the Birmingham International Airport (City Code sec. 11-8-25(3)). In-flight aircraft noise is governed by federal law, which holds the United States has exclusive sovereignty over the navigable airspace (49 U.S.C. 40103).
Aircraft operational noise is not regulated by Birmingham's noise ordinance. Section 11-8-25(3) of the Birmingham City Code expressly exempts 'noise resulting from the operation of the Birmingham International Airport' (now Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport) from Article B. This aligns with controlling federal law: 49 U.S.C. 40103(a) provides that 'the United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States' and that a citizen has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace, with the FAA assigned to regulate that airspace. The U.S. Supreme Court held in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, 411 U.S. 624 (1973), that federal law preempts state and local regulation of aircraft noise and flight operations. Land use around airports is instead addressed through Alabama's Airport Zoning law (Code of Ala. 1975, sections 4-6-1 to 4-6-15), under which the legislature declared that preventing airport hazards is a matter of public health, safety and welfare addressed through the police power. Residents disturbed by overflights are directed to the FAA noise-complaint process rather than to municipal noise enforcement.
No municipal penalty applies to aircraft operational noise because it is exempted by Birmingham City Code section 11-8-25(3) and preempted by federal law. Ground-based nuisance noise unrelated to flight operations may still be addressed under section 11-8-21.
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