Continuation of LAX Takeoff Priority Urged by FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing continuation of a national takeoff priority system that benefits Los Angeles International Airport.

The “free-flow” system, which allows flights out of LAX to leave before those at other airports during bad weather or backups in air traffic, was instituted as a temporary measure in February to reduce potential problems at LAX while one of its four runways is being reconstructed.

But there actually have been fewer delays under the the new system, despite the loss of the runway, FAA officials said, prompting them to ask that the program be tried for another six months after completion of the runway work, scheduled for June.

The major airlines have been asked to comment on the proposal by Monday, and the FAA will issue its final decision soon afterward, said Jim McCord, an air traffic manager in the agency’s Western Pacific Region office in Lawndale.

Some officials admit, however, that passengers at other airports throughout the country could face delays if the proposal is adopted.

“What we are doing is recognizing the role of LAX in the national transportation system and running our planes without any restrictions,” said John Mayrhofer, who manages the FAA’s Los Angeles tower.

Under the “free-flow” system, air traffic controllers are instructed to give the go-ahead to takeoffs from Los Angeles ahead of those from other airports under certain circumstances.

If, for instance, bad weather or congestion has backed up flights at Kennedy International Airport in New York, a flight from San Francisco to Kennedy might be held on the ground until it can be lined up to land at Kennedy. Meanwhile, a flight from LAX to Kennedy would be allowed to take off on time because it has priority.

The priority system was only one of several measures taken to adjust to the temporary closing of LAX’s Runway 24 Left. The FAA and the airlines also rescheduled more than 1,500 daily flights in and out of LAX and dropped 50 altogether so that takeoffs and landings were spread out more evenly during the day.

Although the runway closure meant that the takeoffs and landings that LAX could handle in an hour declined from about 130 to fewer than 100, officials found that airline performance improved.

In January, before the runway was closed, 960 aircraft were delayed on departure for a total of 34,990 minutes, the FAA said. In March, while the airport was operating with three runways, only 274 aircraft were delayed, for 7,239 minutes, according to the agency.

The improvement came even though there were about 1,000 more takeoffs and landings in March--54,108 contrasted with 53,195 in January.

“I think everybody is ecstatic with the way things have turned out,” said one airline official. “The joke going around the airport is ‘Isn’t it amazing how much better things are working with three runways. Can you imagine how much better it would work with two?’ ”

McCord, the air traffic manager in the FAA’s Lawndale office, said the rescheduling of flights may be the primary reason the airport has operated so efficiently since the runway was closed, but that officials believe the free-flow concept also is responsible.

The agency would like to continue it for six months after the runway is reopened to evaluate its impact on air traffic operations nationwide before making a recommendation on whether to adopt it on a permanent basis, he said.

As far as the FAA can determine, McCord said, departures at other airports have not been seriously affected since the free-flow program went into effect. For example, controllers have reported that the number of aircraft delayed on takeoffs at San Francisco International Airport has been negligible, he said.