The Vancouver International Airport (YVR) received more than 2,000 noise complaints regarding aircraft operations last year, but most (94 per cent) were from just three individuals in the Lower Mainland.
While Richmond residents only submitted 247 complaints about YVR noise, it was also only three people who submitted the bulk of them — four-fifths of the complaints came from these three people.
Jet arrivals and departures, propeller aircraft movements and engine run-ups, which are required testing activity for regular maintenance, were the most common community noise complaints documented by YVR staff.
A total of 2,044 complaints related to noise at the airport were submitted by 115 people in the Lower Mainland, according to a City of Richmond staff report.
Fifty-two of the people who complained were Richmond residents.
The report is part of an annual update to Richmond city council on the work and activities done by the Vancouver International Airport Authority’s Aeronautical Noise Management Committee (YVR ANMC).
While there was a decrease in the number of community noise complaints in 2021 compared to the previous year (from 2,808 in 2020 to 2,044 in 2021), there was a slight increase in the number of people who made noise complaints to YVR (from 107 in 2020 to 115 in 2021).
Staff has reached out and responded directly to individuals who submitted a noise complaint after investigating the nature of their concerns, according to the report.
