The following is a copy of a letter from Congresswoman Jackie Speier to the Vice President of Air Traffic Organization at the FAA in Washington, D.C. in reference to recently instituted Westerly departures from SQL.
The SCAPA Board of Directors have been battling against the use of these procedures since they first came to our attention several months ago. The Serco tower manager decided to use them on his own initiative despite the fact that they have not been used since the airport was established in 1948 and are specifically disallowed in the Voluntary Noise Abatement Procedures. Thankfully, Congresswoman Speier worked with us and with the help of FAA management put a stop to this unnecessary and disruptive practice. She also raises the issue of replacing Serco controllers with FAA staff. We applaud her efforts and deeply appreciate everything she has been doing to ensure that San Carlos Airport remains a kind and considerate neighbor to our friends in the surrounding community.
Please note that despite numerous requests and entreaties from airport management and from SCAPA, the tower refused to stop using left traffic and early southbound turns, which set afire complaints from our San Carlos neighbors who had never before complained. The tower ultimately doubled-down and claimed that the FAA had endorsed usage of these patterns. Only when it became apparent that the tower would not comply with airport management’s strong and repeated requests did it become necessary to escalate to the FAA and Congresswoman Speier.
