Airlines agree to JWA cap extension

June Casagrande

In exchange for two more gates and a million more passengers a

year, the city has won verbal assurances from airline representatives

that they will support an extension of the John Wayne Settlement

Agreement.

“Without taking out the party hats and horns just yet, the answer

is: Yes. This is good news,” Mayor Tod Ridgeway said Wednesday.

In a series of meetings in past weeks, representatives of the

city, Orange County, the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our

Newport agreed to further concessions to win the airlines’ blessing.

And at a meeting with county representatives, the Air Transport Assn.

agreed to urge the Federal Aviation Administration to support the

extended settlement agreement.

The administration’s approval is considered by many to be the

final piece of the puzzle in ensuring that restrictions on noise,

flights and expansion at the airport remain intact.

Though the aviation administration is not a party to the original

lawsuit that put those restrictions in place through 2005, it could

sue to overturn the restrictions. The city, county and environmental

groups want a letter from the aviation administration that, in

effect, would amount to assurances that they would not sue.

“We still need that ink on the FAA letter,” City Atty. Bob Burnham

said.

Burnham added that the increased number of gates and passengers

likely won’t have much effect on Newport Beach residents, noting that

factors such as the number of seats filled on any given flight and

current trends in air travel will buffer the effect of expanded caps.

“We’re convinced it will not have any significant impact,” Burnham

said.

Under the terms of the tentative new agreement, the airport can

increase the number of annual passengers to 10.8 million over a

10-year period; it will also bring the number of gates permissible at

the airport to 20.

The originally proposed settlement agreement extension allowed up

to 18 gates from the current 14 gates and up to 9.8-million

passengers a year. The current caps, which are slated to expire in

2005, allow 8.3-million passengers a year.

Ridgeway said that the airlines had also asked to add six more of

the noisiest flights per day, but the city and other parties said no.

Currently, 73 such flights per day are permitted. The original

settlement agreement allows that number to go up to 85.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Chris Cox met with the new Federal Aviation

Administration head to push for the settlement agreement extension,

creating a two-pronged approach to winning the administration’s

endorsement.

Allan Beek, a representative of Stop Polluting Our Newport, said

that county negotiators deserve much of the credit for earning the

airlines’ approval.

“We’re very happy,” Beek said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.