When the new south runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International opened in September, noise complaints took off – and remained consistently high.
There were a total of 174 complaints filed in 2013, the year before the runway opened. That leaped to 2,043 last year, with 4,274 complaints lodged so far this year.
The noise problems aren't the result of additional air traffic but rather because planes now fly over or near populated neighborhoods south and west of the new runway.In most cases, little can be done, as the airport has no power to penalize pilots, airlines or air traffic controllers.