Draft East Hampton Airport Rules Detailed

The Town of East Hampton released the details of its proposed restrictions on aircraft that fly in and out of East Hampton Airport ahead of the Wainscott facility’s recently postponed “re-envisioning” process.

Among the proposed rules in the plan to convert the airport from public to private use is setting curfews, with flights limited between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

“Exactly what measures will be put in place and studied during the 2022 summer season are still to be determined, with comments requested from the public by March 18,” the town noted in a statement.

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

“While their decision to delay the closing of the airport was a welcome gesture toward collaboration, the Town of East Hampton’s ill-advised airport restrictions will not solve any issues, but will instead only push the problems to neighboring communities like Montauk, Westhampton and the North Fork,” said Loren Riegelhaupt, spokesman for the Eastern Region Helicopter Council.

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.