Well-grounded at LAX

AFTER 10 YEARS, TWO MAYORS and $150 million, a plan had finally been cobbled together to improve Los Angeles International Airport. On Thursday it was wiped from the screen, canceled like a flight to Buffalo in January. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

There is plenty to like, and some not to like, about the city’s deal with the airport’s neighbors -- a deal that largely scotched former Mayor James K. Hahn’s ill-conceived master plan to modernize LAX. The main benefit is that it allows construction to proceed on three vital projects: a rebuilding of the southern runway complex, a renovation of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and an overhaul of the airport baggage system. The work is critical to improve airport safety and prepare it for the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet, slated to hit commercial airways in a year.

The city can also celebrate the fact that the bulk of Hahn’s master plan has been shelved. The $11-billion project would not have added capacity or boosted the area’s economy, and its effect on security was highly debatable. Many aspects of the blueprint will probably survive, but the plan is up for review again and its most questionable proposals, including a remote check-in center near the San Diego Freeway, are doubtless history.

Less beneficial is an agreement to limit growth. Because the airport can’t legally cap the number of flights or passengers, it came up with a back-door way of satisfying the local community: If by 2010 the yearly passenger count hits 75 million (it’s around 62 million now), the airport will remove two gates a year for five years, reducing the total from 163 to 153. But the notion of choking further growth by inflicting delays is nonsensical -- and an inconvenience to the flying public. It’s even a bad idea for neighboring areas; more planes idling on the tarmac means more pollution. The fact is, LAX will remain an important but congested gateway for years to come. It’s important for the city to promote its most efficient use, not to sign on to plans to dismember it over time.

With the master plan up for reconsideration, the biggest danger now is further delay. An airport spokesman says the settlement won’t push back future improvements; by the time the current projects are finished, new ones will have been approved. That’s pretty optimistic. Some projects, such as a direct rail or bus connection from LAX to L.A.’s public-transit hub at Union Station, are far too important to be put on indefinite hold.

Under any scenario, LAX is not going to be able to expand much more. So part of the settlement, naturally, is a ritual call for further study on how to send more air traffic to other regional airports. But all the studies in the world can’t change the reality that the airports in Orange County, Burbank and Long Beach also face capacity constraints. As for Ontario and Palmdale airports, the airport authority should promote them heavily, but it’s unrealistic to expect them to relieve the pressure at LAX anytime soon. Airline schedules track passenger demand, and LAX is where people want to check in.