Brian Jorgerson, director of the Provo City Airport, told Neighborhood District 3 that the airport is in the middle of a master‑planning process and invited residents to a public meeting on Nov. 17 to provide input on facility requirements and projections that will be validated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Jorgerson said the airport is designated in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems as a primary airport and receives federal capital funding; he said the airport currently receives about $10 million in federal funding on average every other year and that passenger counts are growing, projecting roughly 535,000 commercial passenger enplanements in 2025 (about 1.07 million total passengers).

When residents raised sustained neighborhood noise from small aircraft, helicopters and flight‑training circuits, Jorgerson said the FAA controls airspace and tower controllers direct traffic. “We have 0 jurisdiction on airspace,” he said, explaining that as a federally obligated public‑use airport the city must accept public aviation activity and cannot unilaterally refuse flight schools. He added that the airport and local flight schools coordinate published practice areas and that some training activities can be directed to less‑populated areas outside the valley.

Residents described repeated low‑altitude circuits over West Provo that they said have increased in recent years, including one attendee who said a helicopter incident occurred on Aug. 22 and read publicly available track information including an N‑number and an altitude claim; the attendee asked the airport to investigate. Jorgerson said staff would investigate that report and follow up with known helicopter operators and that some mitigations are possible, such as working with the FAA to make the traffic pattern a right‑hand pattern to route more traffic over the lake, but stressed that safety and tower‑directed traffic priorities constrain city action.

Residents urged faster action and asked whether the airport can limit flight‑school operations; Jorgerson reiterated that FAA regulations and grant assurances limit the airport’s ability to exclude users but that the airport will continue to pursue coordination, best practices with flight schools, and discussions with controllers to avoid densely populated pattern areas whenever possible.

The airport director encouraged residents to attend the master‑plan public meeting and to submit concerns in writing so staff can incorporate feedback into discussions with the FAA and flight operators.