Mayor Revives Airport Panel in Bid to Divert Traffic From LAX

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Friday that he is resurrecting a regional airport authority in hopes that the group can reach a consensus on how to relieve aging Los Angeles International Airport by dispersing air traffic to other facilities.

The mayor appointed Councilman Bill Rosendahl to represent the city on the authority, whose reconstitution -- the third in 20 years -- was required under a legal agreement officials signed with LAX’s neighbors late last year.

The group will be charged with determining how the region will cope as the estimated number of air passengers doubles by 2030.

“The purpose of this airport authority is not to jam air traffic down” anyone’s throat, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe said.

“It’s to disperse traffic and not to go after Burbank, not to go after Long Beach, but to go after areas where they want traffic,” Knabe said.

Los Angeles officials, who also operate airports in Ontario and Palmdale, have not approached other counties to participate but said they would send letters signed by Villaraigosa soon.

In the past, the authority has included representatives from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Officials say that they also plan to ask Ventura and San Diego counties to participate.

Since 1985, when a regional airport authority was conceived, efforts to share travelers among the region’s 11 airports have never gotten off the ground largely because of infighting and the inability to reach a consensus.

A poorly written charter, which does not provide the group with jurisdiction over existing airport operators and gives veto powers to each member, also contributed to its failure.

Those obstacles still exist, but Knabe said he would be open to reviewing the charter.