The Path Forward
Napa Valley asks for sensible
fair-weather options.
We're not anti-airport. We're pro-solutions. Safer alternative approaches exist — some have been used for over 50 years without incident — that protect residents, schools, vineyards, and the airport's future. The FAA just hasn't acted on them.
Use the right tool for the conditions
We support Napa County Airport. We support aviation safety. What we do not accept is the permanent imposition of a worst-case instrument procedure over a populated valley that enjoys clear skies the vast majority of the year.
Jets flew safely into Napa County Airport for over 50 years using dispersed visual approaches over sparsely populated areas. The new NextGen/GPS path is designed for worst-case weather — low visibility, cloud cover, conditions where GPS precision genuinely improves safety. But Napa Valley has nearly idyllic flying conditions most of the year. Clear skies, excellent visibility, and mild winds are the norm — not the exception. Applying a worst-case instrument procedure as the year-round default makes no more sense than requiring snow chains on a sunny day in July.
The solution is straightforward: use NextGen/GPS instrument approaches when weather conditions require them, and return to proven historical paths when conditions are clear. This is not a novel idea. It is how aviation has worked for decades.
Why this works
50+ years of safe history
Dispersed visual approaches served Napa County Airport safely for over half a century. This is not theoretical — it is a proven, real-world track record that worked until the FAA overrode it.
Traffic so light it's used for training
The FAA uses Napa's control tower to train new controllers — that's how manageable the volume is. This is not a congested hub that requires GPS-locked precision for every single arrival.
Built-in aircraft limits
No commercial airlines are permitted at Napa County Airport, and aircraft size is restricted. There is no operational reason to funnel all traffic over one residential corridor.
Multiple safe directions exist
Several approach directions avoid flying low over densely populated areas. Dispersing arrivals across these paths is how it worked for decades — and how it should work again.
“There's no sewage treatment plant at Niagara Falls. Fireworks aren't allowed in the Everglades. Napa Valley should not be turned into a raceway for loud, annoying jets.”
— Napa Valley visitor
Progress is underway — because you demanded it
In November 2025, the Napa County Board of Supervisors approved $185,000 to hire Coffman Associates, a nationally recognized aviation consulting firm, to study and propose an alternative flight path to the FAA. This did not happen because officials decided on their own. It happened because residents showed up, filed complaints, testified at meetings, signed petitions, and refused to be ignored.
But a study is not a solution. It is a step toward one. Without sustained public pressure, a study can sit on a shelf. The community must stay engaged to ensure this leads to real, enforceable change — not another round of reports and delay.
Communities across the country are fighting back
Napa Valley is not alone. The FAA's NextGen/GPS flight path changes have caused identical problems at airports nationwide — concentrating noise over communities that previously experienced little to none. The pattern is the same everywhere: no public input, no environmental review, no accountability.
More than 100 communities have joined the Aviation Impacted Communities Alliance, a national coalition demanding fair and transparent flight path decisions. In Congress, over 35 members have formed the Quiet Skies Caucus, pushing for legislative reforms to require community input before the FAA changes flight paths.
The lesson is plain: when residents organize, document the harm, and refuse to accept decisions made behind closed doors, change happens. Napa Valley has the facts, the community will, and the political attention. What it needs now is your voice.
Share your story. Show up. Speak out.
The solution exists. The community is organized. The County has taken a first step. But none of it holds without sustained pressure from the people who live here.
Take action now →