New Orleans, LA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Scope
- Operating, running or testing aircraft engines
- Limit applied
- Table 1 of receiving land use category
- Measured where
- Any place within an inhabited zone of the city
- Airport exemption
- Landing, takeoff, ground movement at an airport
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine + up to 90 days (Sec. 66-140)
Summary
New Orleans bars operating, running or testing an aircraft engine that creates noise exceeding the Table 1 land-use limits anywhere within an inhabited zone of the city. The rule targets ground testing, maintenance and repair; aircraft actually landing, taking off or taxiing at an airport are exempt.
Aircraft engines.a.It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, run, or test or cause to be operated, run, or tested an aircraft engine which creates a noise level exceeding Table 1 of the receiving land use category measured at any place within an inhabited zone of the city.b.The intent of this subsection is to regulate noise levels produced in the testing, maintenance, and repairs of aircraft engines and aircraft hours. Any aircraft operating during a landing, takeoff, or while moving upon ground surface of an airport shall be exempted from the provisions of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 116 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Code of Ordinances Sec. " That means a helicopter or fixed-wing engine run up, tested, or repaired near residences must stay within the same Table 1 ceilings that apply to any other stationary noise source in that land-use zone, for example, 55/60 dBA at night in residential areas. Sec. 66-203(8)b narrows the target of the rule: its intent is "to regulate noise levels produced in the testing, maintenance, and repairs of aircraft engines," and it expressly exempts any aircraft "operating during a landing, takeoff, or while moving upon ground surface of an airport", so routine helicopter flight operations at an airport fall outside this provision, while ground-running or bench-testing an engine near housing does not.
Violations are enforced as an Article IV nuisance noise, carrying the Sec. 66-140 misdemeanor penalty of a fine up to the state-law maximum, up to 90 days imprisonment, or both, with each day of continued violation a separate offense, plus the Sec. 66-141 injunctive-abatement remedy available for any noise source exceeding the article's limits.
Violations & Fines
Running, testing or operating an aircraft engine (outside the landing/takeoff/ground-movement-at-an-airport exemption) above Table 1's land-use limits is a Sec. 66-140 misdemeanor, fine up to the state-law maximum, up to 90 days imprisonment, or both, each day a separate offense, with Sec. 66-141 injunctive abatement also available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does New Orleans regulate helicopter or aircraft engine noise?
Are helicopters exempt while actually flying?
What's the penalty for excessive aircraft engine noise?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Orleans
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