LAX report: El Toro airport not needed

Sue Doyle

South County activists are pumping up a Los Angeles International Airport

report that contradicts Orange County officials’ contention that demand

exists for another commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine Corps

Air Station.

But local El Toro proponents didn’t buy the report’s findings, accusing

the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority members -- who distributed the

report in a press release Thursday -- of manipulating the information.

“What they have done is pull out information that is most favorable to

them,” said Bruce Nestande, president of Citizens for Jobs and the

Economy.

Meeting increased demand in the future is a central argument for pro-El

Toro forces, who say John Wayne Airport is not equipped to handle the

capacity for the long term.

The report, completed in February by Los Angeles World Airports, says the

proposed airport has a good capacity potential, but is not located in a

convenient area and doesn’t have an established market of airline

carriers. The report said airlines may be reluctant to shift existing

services from John Wayne to El Toro, if it is built.

“The lion’s share can be handled at John Wayne Airport for the next 15

years,” said Susan Withrow, chairwoman of the El Toro Reuse Planning

Authority. “This report corroborates everything we’re saying in South

County.”

The proposed airport would start off at a competitive disadvantage to

other major airports with preestablished passengers and international

flights, the report said. Direct service to Canada and Mexico would

probably be its strongest international service, according to the report.

In addition, the report claims that airports in Ontario and Palmdale can

absorb flight needs if the demand for additional service spills over.

Smaller airports can facilitate a significant share of the market for

short trips, but those facilities lack a range of destinations and flight

frequency, causing most people to continually rely on LAX, according to

the report.

But Nestande disputed the notion that El Toro is still not needed.

“Nobody has concluded that LAX can handle everything,” he said.

Nestande also said it doesn’t make sense for the county to rule out

increased transportation services for the region, considering Southern

California’s growing population.