Airport celebration tops today’s list of arrivals

Mathis Winkler

JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- It’s unlikely residents would vote it their most

loved landmark in the area. But the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John

Wayne Airport has been around for 10 years, and officials will hold a

celebration today to mark the occasion.

The airport goes back much further than the terminal’s existence, of

course. Planes have arrived and departed at the airport since Eddie

Martin started flying here in 1923. In 1967, the Eddie Martin Terminal

opened to take in 400,000 passengers annually. Three years later, traffic

had more than doubled.

Billed as the largest public works project in county history, the

Board of Supervisors began the Airport Improvement Project in 1985 to

make room for the ever-increasing number of passengers. When the Riley

building opened in 1990, the old terminal was torn down. The site, just

to the south of the current terminal, now serves as a parking lot for

planes at night.

As a result of a settlement agreement with the city and community

groups, the size of the new airport terminal, as well as the number of

flights, will stay restricted until 2005. Newport Beach’s City Council

adopted a resolution in August to urge county supervisors to extend the

airport restrictions until the end of 2025.

The original agreement limits the number of passengers to 8.4 million

and allows no more than 73 daily departures. Departures are allowed from

7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Arrivals are allowed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.

The terminal “is one of the most admired facilities in the world,”

said Alan L. Murphy, the airport’s director. “With this celebration, we

want to show our appreciation to the residents of Orange County for their

support and patronage.”

Anyone visiting the airport today will receive some goodies, ranging

from luggage tags to bags of peanuts to blowup planes. At 11 a.m., even a

John Wayne look-alike will make the rounds and gladly oblige for Polaroid

snapshots, while supplies last.

Also, the “JENNIES2JETS2000” exhibition will be on display. It’s based

on Vi Smith’s history book of aviation in Orange County and will include

historical airplanes and those of the future suspended around the

terminal.

Drawings for such prizes as plane tickets, hotel stays and car rentals

will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

And if all that hasn’t convinced you to hang out at the airport today,

maybe this will: Parking will be free throughout the day.