Philadelphia's Noise Code expressly exempts aircraft and airport/railroad operations, and federal law preempts local control of aircraft noise; Philadelphia International Airport, which the City owns, runs its own FAA-coordinated noise program instead.
Philadelphia Code Section 10-403(13) exempts aircraft and airport and railroad operations (subsections (a) and (b)) from the prohibited-conduct rules of the Noise Code, so the City's decibel limits do not reach overflight noise. This mirrors federal preemption: under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 40103, the United States has exclusive sovereignty over the navigable airspace, and the U.S. Supreme Court held in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc., 411 U.S. 624 (1973), that the Federal Aviation Act and the Noise Control Act of 1972 preempt local regulation of aircraft noise. As the proprietor of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), the City may adopt reasonable, non-discriminatory noise-abatement measures in its capacity as airport owner - PHL operates a noise program coordinated with the FAA - but the noise ordinance itself does not regulate aircraft, and individual residents cannot use Chapter 10-400 to abate overflight noise.
No City Noise Code penalty applies to aircraft overflight noise because Section 10-403(13)(a)-(b) exempts it and federal law preempts local control. Aircraft-noise concerns are directed to the Philadelphia International Airport Noise Program and the FAA rather than to Department of Public Health enforcement.
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