FAA gives Newport Beach its JWA wish

June Casagrande

A letter from the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday

appears to be solid insurance that noise controls at John Wayne

Airport won’t be overturned in court, city officials said.

The aviation administration sent the nine-page letter to the city

Tuesday, drawing cautious cheers from local leaders.

“Bearing in mind that there could be some tweaking and that it’s

still being looked at by the city, from what I can see now, this

letter is dynamite. It’s everything we were hoping for,” Mayor Steve

Bromberg said.

City Atty. Bob Burnham said that lawyers will review the details

of the letter to ensure that their first impressions are right: that

the letter offers solid protection against legal challenges to noise

restrictions at the airport.

“Based on our initial review, it appears to be satisfactory,”

Burnham said.

Though the administration is not a party to the original

settlement agreement, the possibility that the administration might

sue has loomed as the biggest threat to the flight restrictions.

Last month, the city and other parties to the original settlement

agreement struck a compromise with airlines. They offered to add two

more gates and a million more passengers a year over what was

originally proposed in the extension.

Over the next 10 years, the passenger cap will be raised to 10.8

million a year and the number of gates allowed at the airport will go

up to 20.

Now that the administration has given its blessing, these caps and

all other current restrictions, including curfews, will remain in

place through 2015.

Some residents have protested the deal, saying that it gives away

too much.

Officials have countered that these terms are better than they

could have hoped for.

“Because the FAA has stated definitively that the extension of the

current controls at John Wayne is consistent with federal law, this

paves the way for additional extensions beyond 2015,” Rep. Chris Cox

said in a statement.

The airlines, in turn, told county leaders that they would urge

the aviation administration to send a letter to the city stating that

the federal body believes that the noise controls are consistent with

federal law.

“It’s better than just their opinion that it’s consistent with the

[Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990]. It offers a factual basis

for that opinion,” Bromberg 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.