Burbank’s Chances of Stopping United Flights Viewed as Slim

Two Burbank members of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority have declared their opposition to United Airlines’ plan to begin flying between the airport and Chicago in May, but an airport official said Wednesday that their chances of stopping the flights are slim.

“If airlines meet our requirements, we are more or less obligated to provide access to them,” said Victor Gill, spokesman for the authority, which sets airport policy. “The airport has an obligation as a public facility . . . to grant fair and reasonable access.”

The authority, which is responsible for approving new commercial flights, is expected to vote Monday on United’s proposal. Burbank’s representatives on the panel, however, complain that they have no real power to limit airport growth.

‘A Rubber Stamp’

“All we are is a rubber stamp,” said Burbank Mayor Mary Lou Howard, one of three Burbank commissioners elected to the nine-member board. Margie Gee, another board member, is also opposed to the flights.

Leland Ayers, Burbank’s third representative on the panel, said Wednesday that he has “some reservations at this point” about the United flights, but has not decided how he will vote.

Glendale and Pasadena each have three elected representatives on the panel as well.

At a Burbank City Council meeting Tuesday night, City Councilman Al Dossin asked City Atty. Doug Holland to research options available to the city to control airport traffic. “We don’t need an LAX in Burbank,” Dossin said, expressing the fear that the two round-trip United flights daily would increase airport noise.

The Burbank officials complained that the airport charter is vague on what they can do. They maintain that any decisions that cause increased noise require majority votes, not just from the entire commission, but from the representatives of each city--giving each city’s delegation veto power.

The United flights cannot be approved if Howard and Gee are opposed to them, Holland argued Wednesday.

Gill agreed that “it’s not a very straightforward situation.” But he said a federal law prohibiting airports from discriminating against airlines supersedes the charter.

United has complied with all authority regulations, Gill said. It plans to use “Stage 3” aircraft, which have the quietest Federal Aviation Administration rating. The airline’s flights are expected to raise the “noise-impact area,” where the average noise level from aircraft is higher than 65 decibels, from 115 to 117 acres. That is well within the 250-acre limit established by the authority.

Burbank officials said Wednesday that they do not specifically oppose the United flights, but are worried about escalating traffic at the airport. Nine carriers, including TWA, whose twice daily flights to St. Louis were approved by the authority in November, now operate out of Burbank.

“My objection is the increase in takeoffs and landings. . . . It indicates to me the airport intends to increase flights and noise,” Dossin said.