Aircraft noise in Fairfield comes almost entirely from Travis Air Force Base, immediately east of the city. Federal preemption (49 U.S.C. §40103) prevents Fairfield from regulating in-flight aircraft noise. Land-use compatibility is governed by the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan adopted by the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission and incorporated into Fairfield's General Plan, using CNEL contours from the 2009 AICUZ study.
Federal law (49 U.S.C. §40103) reserves exclusive sovereignty over U.S. navigable airspace to the FAA, which preempts local regulation of aircraft noise in flight. Fairfield therefore cannot directly limit overflights or engine run-ups at Travis Air Force Base, the major C-5 and KC-10/KC-46 airlift hub immediately east of the city. What Fairfield can control is land use under noise contours. The Travis AFB Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) study, based on April 2009 operations, maps CNEL contours produced by the NOISEMAP program. The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission has adopted a Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan (LUCP) that uses those contours: new residential construction is treated as Normally Acceptable up to 60 dB CNEL, Marginally Acceptable from 60–65 dB CNEL with interior mitigation to 45 dB CNEL, and generally Incompatible above 65 dB CNEL. Fairfield's General Plan Noise Element and Chapter 25 Article X incorporate the LUCP contours. Suisun City, Fairfield, and Vacaville all lie in noise-compatibility zones affected by Travis operations. Complaints about specific Travis flights are routed to the 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs Office.
There is no fine for being overflown. Building permits in Fairfield's high-noise contours that fail to meet LUCP interior-noise mitigation (45 dB CNEL) can be denied. The Airport Land Use Commission can also override inconsistent local approvals; cities can override the ALUC only by a two-thirds vote with findings.
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