BELMONT, N.C. — As Charlotte Douglas International Airport moves forward with a fourth runway project, airport leaders are inviting the public to discuss aircraft noise and flight operations through a new series of FAA-related community meetings.
The airport says the Noise Advisory Forum is intended to provide transparency, share information about noise impacts and flight activity, and give residents an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback as communities in places like Belmont raise concerns about how future flight pattern changes could affect neighborhoods.
People living in eastern Belmont may soon hear more than just the peaceful sounds of the Catawba River.
[ READ MORE: Charlotte airport’s new runway set to open fall 2027 ]
Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s fourth runway, which is under construction, could change flight patterns.
This is the problem for people in eastern Belmont. You have neighbors next to the Catawba River.
You can see planes take off and land from Charlotte Douglas International Airport just over the tree line, but you can’t hear them. So you don’t feel the impact of one of the largest airports in the world.
The fear is that a fourth runway would mean a new traffic pattern, and a plan to change a policy that created a two-mile buffer to reduce noise.
Belmont officials fear if that buffer is lifted, then people living further inland will hear planes coming and going.
So city officials have asked residents to show up at an FAA meeting next week designed to get public input about those changes. There, they worry, can change a lot here.
“That’s part of the key selling points of Belmont,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Marc Seelinger. “We’re kind of this quiet small town community outside the larger urban area that is Charlotte. When you’re talking about having loud airplanes coming in and out all the time, that’s obviously not what people were expecting when they bought into Belmont.”
At 5 p.m., Channel 9’s Ken Lemon will be talking to people in the communities worried about the changes.
The CLT Noise Advisory Forum will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the CLT Center, 5601 Wilkinson Boulevard in Charlotte.
Other meetings will be on:
- Jan. 13, 2027
- April 14, 2027
- July 14, 2027