Air Charter Firm Clears First Hurdle for Move to East Bay Airport, Neighbors Concerned About Noise

Feb. 20—LIVERMORE — A charter airline could be moving to the Livermore Municipal Airport, but some nearby neighbors are worried about the noise from more planes especially a Boeing 737 that would be stored there.

KaiserAir, a charter air service currently based at the Oakland International Airport, wants to move its headquarters to the Livermore airport. The plan submitted to the city would be for a fixed base operator (a business granted the rights to operate on airport grounds), with a hangar that would house its planes, including a Boeing 737.

The project proposes phasing in development of 45 acres of land at the airport, including a terminal complex, corporate office space for the company's 30 to 40 employees, an aircraft maintenance facility, fuel storage, parking and space for six KaiserAir corporate aircraft.

The development, an estimated $15 million to $18 million investment, would include relocation of the company's corporate offices from Oakland to Livermore, according to the Airport Commission staff report.

The lease would net $286,944 per year to the Airport Enterprise Fund; a 45-year lease would net a revenue of $12.9 million total. The commission recommended the project at its Feb. 8 meeting, and it will next head to the Planning Commission sometime in the coming months, and eventually the City Council for final approval.

But some airport neighbors in the Tri-Valley cities of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore are already concerned about the increase in airplane noise they've been experiencing during the pandemic and have started an online petition opposing any airport operations expansion that so far, has gathered more than 900 signatures. Livermore airport's interim manager Sean Moran acknowledged the airport has seen a recent increase in noise complaints and a steady stream of flights during the pandemic.

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VIDEO: Resident captures airplane noise over Pleasanton.

For Pleasanton resident Phani Nagaraj, who has lived in the Pleasanton Meadows area (about three miles from the airport) for seven years, he's noticed the airplane noise increase since this past summer. Sure, working from home has increased his awareness of the noise, but the air traffic in general seems to be higher, he said.

"Now with KaiserAir, everyone is freaking out," he said. "For now it's just small plane noise, but we're concerned that it's going to be 737s. That will affect our quality of life, and even property values."

But the airport itself can do little in terms of noise restrictions that exceed what the Federal Aviation Administration allows. Airport officials let the pilots know to be a "good neighbor" and alert them of noise sensitivity over certain neighborhoods, Moran said.

"We actively engage in the pilot community, highlighting noise sensitive areas," Moran said.

Moran said decibel thresholds in regards to federal noise regulations typically relate to land surrounding the airports and whether residential and school structures will quality for sound insulation. There are no such structures that fall under this category surrounding the Livermore airport.

Even overnight quiet hours (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) is voluntary for pilots to follow. Any restrictions are not regulated or required — they are only recommended, he said. As long as aircraft meet certain noise standards (called a Stage 3 certification), then the airport is not able to regulate them.

Moran said the 737 aircraft included in the KaiserAir's plans will not be under charter at the Livermore Airport — it will only be stored or maintained there. It is expected to arrive and depart the airport empty. KaiserAir also tested flying a 737 into and out of the Livermore airport in early 2020 and didn't receive any noise complaints, according to Moran.

Moran said KaiserAir's aircraft for charter will include corporate aircraft such as Gulfstream or Global Express. KaiserAir has been known to charter major sports teams, and President Joe Biden recently used KaiserAir for his private jet on his presidential campaign, according to Forbes. The same 737 plane was the former San Jose Sharks team plane.

Residents from all around the Tri-Valley have started to call the airport with noise complaints in recent months and have mobilized to start the online petition. Nagaraj wants to distribute fliers around his neighborhood so residents know where to call for complaints. He hopes enough complaints — perhaps hundreds, if not thousands — will eventually trigger the FAA to do something about the noise.

Similar mobilization in the early 2000s led to Livermore scrapping a plan to expand the airport at the time. Some 1,500 people packed a City Council meeting in 2005, and neighbors formed the Livermore Airport Citizens Group to fight a new airport master plan that would have included lengthening runways, adding hangars and bringing in more airport business. Even then, residents who opposed the expansion were upset by the noise levels.

Moran said that air traffic at the airport is down from the 1990s, when it was around 300,000 yearly take-offs and landings. Now there are about 142,000 a year. Noise levels also have decreased, he said, thanks to increase awareness among the pilot community and advances in technology to reduce engine noise. The only other fixed base operator at the airport is Five Rivers Aviation.

The Livermore Municipal Airport has been around since 1965, and in 1970, added an air traffic control tower and hangars.

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