Reading, PA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Federal preemption of aircraft noise regulation is settled doctrine. Under 49 U.S.C. § 40103(b), the FAA has exclusive sovereignty over the navigable airspace and the authority to prescribe air traffic regulations. City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, 411 U.S. 624 (1973), held that a local airport-curfew ordinance was preempted by the Federal Aviation Act and the Noise Control Act of 1972. The Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA) further restricts an airport proprietor's ability to impose Stage 2 or Stage 3 aircraft restrictions without FAA approval under 14 C.F.R. Part 161. Reading Regional Airport (FAA identifier RDG) is owned by the Reading Regional Airport Authority — a separate municipal authority, not the City of Reading itself — and sits in Bern Township just outside the city. The City of Reading has no zoning, ordinance, or municipal lever to set aircraft noise limits, curfews, or flight paths. RDG participates in FAA Part 150 voluntary noise compatibility planning (14 C.F.R. Part 150), under which an airport may prepare a Noise Exposure Map and Noise Compatibility Program. Ground noise from aircraft at the airport (engine run-ups outside the cabin, fuel trucks, etc.) is theoretically reachable by Reading's general noise ordinance if it crosses into the city, but practical enforcement is limited.