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FAA OKs Night-Flight Arrivals Over Bay At St. Pete Airport

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TBO.com

Published: February 3, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Airplanes approaching St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport at night can now fly over Old Tampa Bay instead of residential neighborhoods north of the airport.

The change is expected to reduce the noise those residents have been subjected to for years, said Michele Routh, a spokeswoman for the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved the new landing procedures, Routh said.

For a long time, planes could fly over Old Tampa Bay only during the day in good weather, Routh said. At night, they had to fly over the neighborhoods.

The new arrival procedure allows airplanes to fly day or night, weather permitting, over the bay, she said. The FAA required that an airline sponsor the change before making it airport-wide, and UPS agreed, she said.

Still, the new approach is not mandatory, and the airport is working with other airlines to convince them to use it, Routh said. It will be some time before the new approach is used with some regularity, she said.

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