The Lights Go On Again, Dimly, at Wayne Airport

The lights on the main runway at John Wayne Airport are back on--even if they aren’t as bright as usual.

The runway lights had been out since Sunday night, resulting in the diversion or cancellation of night flights at John Wayne on Sunday and Monday nights.

But the 20 flights that would have been canceled or diverted for the third night in a row were able to resume using John Wayne Airport Tuesday night. For several hundred passengers, that meant not having to ride buses to or from Ontario and Los Angeles international airports.

“It’s back to normal,” said Tom Rea, who started his job as the new chief of John Wayne’s control tower Tuesday.

Cause Still Unknown

“It looks like a normal schedule,” said Doug Scherff, station chief for American Airlines at John Wayne. “We’re not canceling or diverting anything tonight.”

Although the runway lights came back on Tuesday, airport officials said they still have not pinpointed what caused the blackout and still are not able to operate them as brightly as usual. Instead, airport spokesman Alan Murphy said, the runway lights will be operated at less intensity to use less power.

“The lights operate at several levels of intensity,” Murphy said. “We got permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use Level 2 intensity instead of Level 5.”

FAA officials said they did not believe the lighting level would pose a safety problem because of relatively good visibility Tuesday.

Murphy said fthat a flooded underground electrical vault was pumped dry Tuesday and that although the lights came on, they still did not attain their full brightness.

“Each section of electrical cable has to be tested to pinpoint the problem,” he said. “The lights are not all on the same circuit.”

Rea said most airports do not have backup lights “because the existing systems have proven to be so reliable.”

Temporary lighting must be tested and approved by the FAA, and pilots must be given advance warning, Rea said, both of which steps were taken. He said most power outages are usually fixed before that becomes necessary.

Rea, who came to Orange County from Honolulu International Airport, said his first day on the job was uneventful.

“This wasn’t a problem for those of us in the air traffic control business because it involves less aircraft for us to worry about,” he said.