FAA Raises Doubts Over Changing East Hampton Airport to Private Use

Town board voted to close the airport and reopen with rules to cut noise.

Wednesday, February 09, 2022 at 06:15 PM ET

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Under the FAA’s recommended timeline, the airport would close on February 28 and reopen as a private-use facility on March 4. [Friends of the East Hampton Airport/Facebook]

Key Takeaways:

East Hampton, N.Y., plans to close its public airport (KHTO) on February 28 and reopen it on March 4 as a private-use facility, requiring prior landing permission, in an effort to reduce aircraft noise complaints.
The FAA has complicated this plan, stating it could take "approximately two years to restore current capability" due to environmental analysis if the airport is deactivated.
The town is able to pursue these changes because its FAA grant assurances, which tied it to federal funds and public operation, expired last September.

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An FAA letter to the town board of East Hampton, N.Y., could complicate plans to close the East Hampton Airport (KHTO) later this month and reopen it shortly afterward as a private-use airport that would require aircraft to get permission before landing there.

The board voted late last month to move ahead with the plan, but in its letter sent February 2, the FAA said it “may take approximately two years to restore the current capability to the airport if it is deactivated,” in part because of environmental analysis that would take place.