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The Podcast!
Subscribe to the only podcast devoted to helping people under the flight path everywhere. It’s definitely not just about noise!Most Recent: Ep #42 Data, Data Centers, and you (Raw!)
The Issues
The Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) is the blueprint for increasing flight capacity by one third in the next ten years. It will have the same community impact as the Third Runway. In fact, it is happening now. How this is possible, and what it means for us.continue...
Does your home have a Port Package of noise mitigation windows and insulation? Having problems with your windows? Mold? You're not alone. Help us help you.continue...
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The SAMP SEPA EIS Public Comment Period is open now from May 22 – August 20, 2026. Learn what is coming and what you can do to help reduce the noise, the pollution, and obtain the compensation we’ve deserved for decades.Top Story
VA Senators drop bill to cap operations at Reagan DCA
September 20, 2026
Targets all the right problems. Almost no chance of passing.
On September 10, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced the DCA Air Safety Act, a response to the January 2025 midair collision near Reagan National that killed 67 people. It is the single most direct statement for rational airport management in four decades. It states plainly: an airport has been scheduled past the point of safety, and the fix is to schedule fewer airplanes.
DCA has added 64 daily flights since 2000. On the night of the collision, one controller worked 29 aircraft across 18 minutes, including six takeoffs or landings in a five-minute span. The NTSB report found that airspace congestion and controller workload contributed to the crash.
A slot is permission to operate at a specific time. Slot control means a federal ceiling on how many of those exist per hour. Banking—the bill calls it clustering—is what airlines do inside that ceiling: they jam arrivals and departures into tight windows in order to maximize profits. It is good for hub economics. It is bad for controllers. And it is bad for anyone under the flight path, because the peaks, especially in the early morning and at night is what hurts residents most.
Kaine and Warner went after both. Unheard of. Scheduling has been treated as untouchable, with all efforts focused on technology fixes instead.
Sea-Tac is not slot-controlled. Almost no American airport is—DCA, JFK and LaGuardia are the exceptions--by acts of Congress dating back before 1990. (Airports were allowed to add themselves to that list--tellingly, the Port of Seattle chose not to do so.)
Because of that, today, the Port of Seattle has no authority to cap operations, and FAA grant assurances push in the opposite direction: accept the traffic that shows up. That is why the SAMP begins with an unconstrained demand forecast and asks only how much building will be necessary to make it happen. Demand management is not on the table.
Banking is real at Sea-Tac. Alaska and Delta both build connecting waves, and a DNL average of noise levels is designed to smooth away those harms. So, the two tools this bill reaches for—an hourly ceiling and a ban on clustering—are the two tools our region has been told for thirty five years do not exist.
However, since 1990, Congress has never supported slot control.
The bill also provides 26 "beyond-perimeter exemptions." These are the nonstops that connect DCA to the West—including the west coast. They exist because members from other states want to get home without a connection, and they have never chosen to vote for any inconvenience.
Both sponsors represent Virginia. DCA is their local airport. They do not need a beyond-perimeter slot to get home. We do not accuse either of bad faith—the safety case here is real and they have been making it since well before the crash. However, the politics are a structural fact, and the whole story. The people who set capacity at DCA are the people who use DCA. Nobody votes to lengthen their own trip home.
Even this bill could be considered cautious. Sixty-seven people died. The NTSB put the system congestion in writing. And the response is six slots a year, starting two years from now, finishing in 2032.
The bill notes that daily operations have increased by 64 since 2000. At Sea-Tac the daily increase has been over twice that.
We truly want to cheer for the best airport legislation in four decades. But the lesson for us is not "call your senator." It is that capacity at American airports only gets discussed after a catastrophe and even then only at that one airport.
Recent Stories
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Nashville suburbs sue FAA over new departure headings
Nashville's suburbs are taking the FAA to court arguing against the same shortcut to changing flight paths used in so many previous community lawsuits: CATEX, challenging new departure headings and Performance-Based Navigation procedures at Nashville International Airport — an airport growing from 200,000 to an expected 300,000-plus annual operations by 2037. At the heart of the case are troubling contradictions in the FAA's own paperwork: noise modeling that claims zero impact anywhere in the study area, while a separate FAA letter quietly acknowledges noise increases of more than 5 dB in two locations. Add in a categorical exclusion that deliberately splits one airspace redesign into smaller pieces to avoid public environmental review, and a nature preserve being modeled without accounting for terrain — and a familiar pattern emerges. -
VA Senators Kaine, Warner introduce bill to curb overcrowding at Reagan National Airport
5:27 News Story Federal lawmakers will consider a proposal to reduce congestion around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, one of the busiest aviation hubs in the nation. No survivors found in crash between military helicopter and jet over Potomac River near DC Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, announced -
Sea-Tac Airport’s Spot Saver program is going away this fall
By Angela Lim Seattle Times features reporter General screening passengers flying out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will see one fewer way to skip the lines at security checkpoints beginning this fall. The airport announced Thursday that its SEA Spot Saver program — which allowed travelers to book a TSA security appointment in advance for free, -
Ep #42 Data, Data Centers, and you (Raw!)
This **raw episode** serves as an update to listeners affected by sound insulation issues. You are not forgotten despite our heavy focus on the SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan) throughout the year. --- ## Key Topics Covered ### Sound Insulation as a Basic Right - The host frames sound insulation as a **fundamental right**, not an afterthought - The Port of Seattle conducted a **new Part 150 Study** as part of the SAMP - That noise study has been used to **further expansion plans** - A significant portion of SAMP advocacy has been directed toward securing **relief for affected residents** ### Port Package Update Program - Slow Progress - The Port proposed a **Port Package update program in 2024** - The process has been **slow-walked** since then - Concerns raised about: - **Window-dressing** by involved parties - **Opposition from some affected city councils** (described as "beyond shameful") ### 📋 Legislative Action - What's Coming -
Ep #41 Port Package Updates… update (Raw!)
This **raw episode** serves as an update to listeners affected by sound insulation issues. You are not forgotten despite our heavy focus on the SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan) throughout the year. --- ## Key Topics Covered ### Sound Insulation as a Basic Right - The host frames sound insulation as a **fundamental right**, not an afterthought - The Port of Seattle conducted a **new Part 150 Study** as part of the SAMP - That noise study has been used to **further expansion plans** - A significant portion of SAMP advocacy has been directed toward securing **relief for affected residents** ### Port Package Update Program - Slow Progress - The Port proposed a **Port Package update program in 2024** - The process has been **slow-walked** since then - Concerns raised about: - **Window-dressing** by involved parties - **Opposition from some affected city councils** (described as "beyond shameful") ### 📋 Legislative Action - What's Coming
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Upcoming Events
Order of Business 10:30 a.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Executive Session – if necessary, pursuant to RCW 42.30.110 (executive sessions are not open to the public) 12:00 p.m. – Public Session Reconvene or Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance 3. Approval of the Agenda 4. Special Orders of the Day 4a. Presentation of
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Highline Forum Agenda Theme: Part 150 Update and PortJobs Overview 2:30pm – Convene Meeting/Introductions Port Co-Chair, Commissioner Mohamed 2:35pm – Public Comments Audience The meeting will be held in person and virtually. Those wishing to provide public comment may: 1) Deliver public comment via email; 2) Deliver public comment via Microsoft Teams; or 3) Deliver
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From The Web
By Alexis Weisend Seattle Times business reporter Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has languished near the bottom of customer satisfaction rankings for years. But after billions of dollars in investments, the airport has achieved a remarkable feat: It’s finally average. According to a survey released Wednesday by data analytics firm JD Power, the airport climbed six spots [...]
From The Library
As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.continue...
Under The Flight Path
Under The Flight Path: A Community History of Sea-Tac Airport. Help us complete the first comprehensive documentary of any major US airport; the impacts on the cities and the people.continue...
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