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.
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.
The mayor recently spoke with an airport official.
“The takeaway was that there is very high probability, with the opening of the new runway, that there will be some shifts in the traffic patterns of the airplanes,” Mayor Joe Jordan said. “Don’t really know what that is yet, but there is a probability that it could impact Belmont.”
He worries that could mean the federally mandated two-mile sound buffer around the airport could be eliminated.
So city officials have asked residents to show up at an FAA meeting next week designed to get public input about those changes.
“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.”
Residents Frank Mortello and his wife will be at the public forum. Sometimes, traffic patterns shift and aircraft noise is unbearable, he said.
“It’s like they are right on top of the roof of your house or tree-top level. I know they are not, but it’s that loud,” he said.
The only melody he wants to hear is not from roaring engines, but birds.
“We are used to it, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.
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
The fourth parallel runway is less than one year from opening. The $1 billion project broke ground in 2023. More than half is paved. Nearly 2,000 sensors are being installed beneath the concrete to track wear and tear and real-time weather conditions.