John Wayne Airport has one of the most stringent aircraft access and noise monitoring programs in the United States and the world. Commercial Air Carrier operations at John Wayne Airport are regulated by the Phase 2 Commercial Airline Access Plan and Regulation (Access Plan). The Access Plan places restrictions on operational capacity, hours of operations, and noise levels. General Aviation operations are permitted 24 hours daily subject to compliance with the daytime noise limits and the more restrictive curfew noise limits, as documented in the General Aviation Noise Ordinance (GANO).

In order to monitor and enforce these restrictions, the Access and Noise Office utilizes a state-of the-art noise monitoring system that enables us to track each and every one of the approximate 218,000 air carrier and general aviation operations that occur each year at John Wayne Airport. The noise monitoring stations transmit noise events instantaneously to the Access and Noise Office, enabling the staff to have up-to-the-second data on aircraft operations. The newest addition to our system is the AirportMonitor, which shows flights around John Wayne Airport within a maximum 80 mile-radius and can easily be accessed from our website.

In 2006, the County of Orange and the City of Newport Beach entered into a "Cooperative Agreement" to promote compatibility between operations at John Wayne Airport and land uses within and in proximity to the City.  Click here to see a copy of the Cooperative Agreement.

Noise and Access staff responds to approximately 2,500 calls a year. The staff strives to provide outstanding customer service by listening and responding to noise complaints, concerns of the community, and requests for information.