Extension of Flight Curfew Is Considered for Lindbergh

A recent jump in the number of noisy late-night airline flights from Lindbergh Field has caused the chairman of the San Diego Board of Port Commissioners to consider extending the airport’s curfew to flights taking off after 10 p.m.

Dan Larsen said the new restrictions may be needed because, although some of the airlines have volunteered to make adjustments in the planes used and their schedules, that action is still insufficient.

Jet noise at Lindbergh--considered to have the worst noise problem in California--is the focus of a special study required by the state to pinpoint what can be done at the airport to reduce noise. However, the study will require several months to finish.

The noise problem also has galvanized residents of Point Loma, particularly those in the Loma Portal neighborhood, over which the jets normally take off. Over the years, these residents have filed several lawsuits against the airport, claiming loss of property values and interference with private lives.

The Port District, which operates the airport, already has placed Lindbergh off limits to most flights between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. But in January the district became concerned when several of the 17 airlines that use jets at Lindbergh made schedule changes that increased the number of takeoffs after 10 p.m.

To make matters worse, according to the Port District, many of those flights included the use of older and noisier Boeing 727, rather than the new generation of quieter jets, such as the MD-80.

Before the schedule change, five flights departed Lindbergh after 10 p.m. In January that number increased to nine, with 727 flights rising from three to six.

Among the airlines that changed their schedules and also decided to use the 727s were United, Delta, USAir and American. America West and PSA also revised their takeoff times but chose to use quieter planes, such as the 727-300 and MD-80.

In response to the changes, Port Director Don Nay wrote to the airlines telling them the increase in late-night takeoffs was occurring during a “noise-sensitive time period” and was happening in the midst of the state-mandated study, part of which would evaluate whether the existing curfew was adequate.

Nay warned them that if they fail to revise their schedules by either moving takeoffs to before 10 p.m. or using quieter planes, the Port District will have to consider extending Lindbergh’s late-night curfew at least until the study is completed.

Top officials from the airlines responded by saying they either will change their takeoff times or phase in quieter jets. But the revised departure times won’t take place until May at the earliest and, in the case of the quieter jets, the aircraft won’t be available until June or the first half of next year.

In a prepared statement, Larsen said: “Although some of the airlines did offer to make scheduling or aircraft equipment adjustments, as chairman of the (Port) Commission, I am not convinced that these voluntary efforts are sufficient to meet the concerns of the Port District on this issue.”

Larsen said in an interview that before the Port District moves to extend the takeoff curfew hours at the airport--which wouldn’t occur in any case until a staff report is finished and a public hearing is held--he wants to push the airlines to use quieter jets.

What Larsen is worried about, he said, is that other airlines will follow the new trend and add more takeoffs after 10 p.m.

“What we want to do is put on notice all the airlines that we don’t want any more (flights) added,” he said. “Without taking some kind of action, the other airlines might think it’s OK and think we don’t care about the changes. We want to get the message across that we do care . . . and we don’t want this to happen.”

Larsen said he expects the issue to be discussed further Tuesday at the Port District meeting.

The airport, which is expected to undergo steady growth over the next decade--from nearly 8 million passengers in 1985 to 14 million in 1996, an increase of 75%--is technically in violation of state airport noise standards. But like many airports in California, it is operating under a variance granted by the state.