Aircraft noise around McAllen International Airport and other Hidalgo County airfields is regulated by the FAA, not the county. Federal law preempts local aircraft-noise rules, so neither the county nor a city can set flight curfews or overflight decibel limits.
Under the federal Airline Deregulation Act and FAA authority over navigable airspace, aircraft operations and noise are almost entirely preempted from local control. Hidalgo County therefore has no ordinance governing aircraft noise, and could not lawfully enact one, over McAllen International Airport (MFE), South Texas International at Edinburg, or the general-aviation fields in the county. Noise complaints about overflights, departures and arrivals go to the operating airport authority and ultimately the Federal Aviation Administration, which sets aircraft noise standards and any voluntary abatement procedures. Ground-based airport activity such as vehicle traffic or fixed equipment can fall under ordinary state noise law, but the flight itself does not. The Hidalgo County Sheriff has no aircraft-noise jurisdiction.
There is no county aircraft-noise penalty because the field is federally preempted. Complaints are handled administratively by the airport operator and the FAA, not through county citations or Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.01.
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