NEW ULM — Air traffic coming into New Ulm could start flying right in the near future.

During a New Ulm City Council work session, the council received a presentation on moving the airport’s flight path from a left-hand pattern to a right-hand pattern.

This issue came about from complaints regarding plane noise. The city has received several complaints regarding the noise caused by planes flying over the city. City Councilor Les Schultz said the airport is in his ward and he receives a lot of calls about this issue. Many people have asked if the airplanes could find a different approach.

City Engineer Joseph Stadheim said one of the possible remedies for the noise caused by planes is to change the flight pattern at the airport. This idea has already been discussed with the Airport Commission.

Currently, the flight path into New Ulm’s airport is to enter air space over New Ulm at a 45 degree angle coming from a southeastern direction. A pilot landing at the New Ulm airport will make a series of left-hand turns before approaching the runway. If the plane needs to circle before landing, it will all be done with left-hand turns.

Stadheim said this was all set by Federal Aviation Administration (FFA). The planes also needed to circle at a specific height. This flight pattern requires airplanes to fly directly over the city, but there is an alternative flight pattern that would direct planes over the countryside and require right-hand turns coming into the airport.

Stadheim said the airport commission was reluctant to recommend this change to the flight pattern, because pilots are taught the left-hand pattern and this is how the majority of airports are set up.

“They understood the concerns, but ultimately safety is at the forefront,” Stadheim said. The airport commission has not taken an action for or against it, but was waiting for a full commission and to see how the city council viewed it.

Stadheim said plane traffic has also increased at the airport. He said it is used frequently by flight school students. North Start Aviation’s flight school operates out of Mankato and the New Ulm airport is often a destination for the school. There are currently 600 students at this school. Approximately, 10 planes come to New Ulm in a day from the flight school.

Chief Flight Instructor with North Star Aviation Chris Palsek attended the work session and confirmed the left-hand pattern is the standard regulation for entering an airport. He compared it to a highway on-ramp.

Palsek said changing to a right-hand pattern would not eliminate city over-flights. Planes would still require flying to the west side of the city. The planes could change altitude to minimize some noise but it would not eliminate all noise.

Palsek said he was not opposed to a right-hand pattern. Right-hand pattern airports are uncommon, but they do exist and usually due to noise concerns. Palsek said another flight school uses a right-hand pattern airport in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Palsek said if the city decides to adopt the right-hand approach pattern, this information will be published in an FAA a publication indicating the change. It will take 60 days before the next publication is issued. Once it is published, the right-hand approach would be standard for the city.

Stadheim said there is no real cost to changing the flight pattern for the airport.

Schultz said he would like to consider this change because the complaints he receives in his ward.

Stadheim said depending on the wind, sound would still be carried into the city even if the pattern is changed. There is an argument that people are choosing to live near an airport that has been in New Ulm since 1948.

North Star Aviation is not the only users of the plane. North Star’s planes can be identified as the purple and white planes.

Schultz said he receives most of the noise calls regarding a yellow plane.

Stadheim said the New Ulm airport is free to anyone to use.

“We can’t control who uses it or at what hours, otherwise that federal funding and grant program would disappear and we would have to pay it back.”

The council made no official decision as this was only a work session. The issue will return to the Airport Commission for further discussion. There is still safety concerns related to changing the pattern as frequent users of the airport are used to the left-hand pattern.