More planes will now be able to approach the Portland International Jetport over the ocean in an effort to reduce the hundreds of noise complaints from nearby residents.

For years, residents of South Portland have objected to the booming sounds of aircraft that cut across the city to reach the tarmac. Some planes take what is called the “harbor visual approach,” which travels over Casco Bay and the Fore River, but that option is only available during the daytime and when visibility is good. It also isn’t very precise, jetport officials said, so a pilot might still pass over land.

Now, the Federal Aviation Administration has published a curving path that most planes will be able to follow exactly on their GPS systems, even in darkness or poor weather. The new approach snakes over the water between Cushing and Peaks islands before coming up the Fore River to the jetport.

Jetport officials said they hope this route will mitigate noise complaints.

“Getting this approach published really helps us meet the desire of the community, which is to cut down on the number of airplanes flying over neighborhoods,” Zachary Sundquist, assistant airport director, said in an interview Wednesday.

So far in 2026, Sundquist said, the jetport has received 682 noise complaints from 10 individuals. One person in Nason’s Corner in Portland has submitted 500 complaints. Other top reporters were on Peaks Island and in Westbrook.

The Jetport Noise Advisory Committee has been working on the new approach for six years. In 2024, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to spend $75,000 of jetport funds to develop this path with a consultant.

South Portland City Councilor Natalie West serves on the committee and said she hopes this change will be particularly noticeable at night.

“In the past year especially, I have received a lot more noise complaints,” she said. “We hope it will make a difference because now the planes will stay over the water.”

The city has increasingly fielded complaints from Peaks Island, including about an approach over the north end that was introduced in recent years as an alternative to traveling over the mainland. That route, and the old one that cuts across South Portland, will still be available, Sundquist said, but the jetport will communicate its preference for the new path to all pilots who can take it. He estimated that 80% of incoming aircraft would be able to do so.

A Peaks Island resident who sits on the committee could not be reached Wednesday. A map of the new route skirts the southern end of the island but does not pass over land.

Airport Director Paul Bradbury acknowledged in a news release that this has been a problem for 20 years and thanked the committee for their help.

Not all planes have the technology to use the new approach, Bradbury said, and pilots will likely need to take a different route to the jetport on days with extremely poor visibility.

“However, the vast majority of our commercial operations will be able to use these approaches and significantly reduce the arrival overflights of South Portland,” Bradbury said.