Fort Myers, FL Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Code of Ordinances Chapter 54, Article V (Noise) contains no aircraft-specific decibel limit, curfew, or flight-path restriction, and the City of Fort Myers cannot impose one. Under federal law - the Federal Aviation Act (49 U.S.C. § 40103), the Airline Deregulation Act, and the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA, 49 U.S.C. §§ 47521-47534) - the FAA holds exclusive authority over navigable airspace and over aircraft operations, noise certification, and operational restrictions on in-flight aircraft. Local governments are preempted from imposing curfews, decibel caps, or flight-path mandates on overflying aircraft. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is located in unincorporated Lee County roughly 15 miles southeast of downtown Fort Myers and is owned and operated by the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA). RSW has an FAA-approved Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program (most recent FAA Record of Approval dated 2014, with prior approvals in 2006). The LCPA's published noise abatement procedures - voluntary preferred-runway use, NextGen RNAV procedures, and noise-monitoring around the airport - are coordinated with FAA Air Traffic Control because the FAA disapproved RSW's mandatory operational restrictions. Page Field (FMY), the city-area general-aviation airport, is also operated by LCPA and follows similar voluntary noise-abatement procedures. Residents experiencing aircraft noise should file complaints with the Lee County Port Authority noise office through the flylcpa.com community/noise page rather than with FMPD or Fort Myers Code Enforcement, who cannot cite aircraft operators.