East Hampton Airport Plan Making Progress

The plan to convert East Hampton Airport from public to private use is moving forward in the Town of East Hampton’s bid to enact new flight curfews and aircraft restrictions, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has completed its airport airspace analysis and found no objection to the plan to deactivate the airport 11:59 p.m. May 17 and activate the new airport in Wainscott at 9 a.m. May 19, according to the town and FAA.

“The FAA is working closely with the Town of East Hampton so all federal regulations are followed to ensure the safety of the airspace,” the agency said in a statement. “We are committed to working collaboratively to complete this.”

The town is also working with Flight Tech Engineering, a consulting firm, to design and implement private instrument flight procedures that will require FAA approval.

The town has previously said the draft rules it is planning to impose include limiting flights between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Also among the proposed restrictions would be the phasing out of allowing aircraft that use lead-based fuel, not permitting aircraft that exceed a 50,000-pound maximum takeoff weight that are generally designed to carry 12 or more passengers and limiting commercial operators to one daily roundtrip per aircraft per day.

The town had bumped the planned temporary closure and reopening of the airport from February to May amid ongoing discussions with the FAA and three lawsuits recently filed to block the move.