Runway Lights Failure Closes Wayne Airport

Orange County’s John Wayne Airport closed down Monday night after new runway lights failed, sending incoming flights to Ontario and Los Angeles International airports and canceling outgoing flights.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded, and hundreds more were bused back to John Wayne from other airports after the runway lights went out at 6:45 p.m., reportedly because of rain.

A spokesman for American Airlines said the 3-hour airport closure forced the carrier to re-route seven flights carrying a total of 300 to 400 passengers.

“A failure like this can mess up a good chunk of our West Coast system,” spokesman Edward Martelle said. “The logistics of placing planes and crews in the right place at the right time is very similar to playing a chess game. We have three that are inbound (to John Wayne) right now that we still have to decide where to route.”

A spokeswoman for Delta Airlines said that carrier was forced to re-route two flights heading for John Wayne.

The lights came back on at 9:50 p.m.--10 minutes before the airport’s usual deadline to end takeoffs for the day. Because of the situation, however, planes were allowed to take off until 11 p.m. Incoming flights also were allowed to land for that hour (the normal deadline for incoming flights is 11 p.m.).

The blackout, which affected only the runway lights, was blamed on the weather, as a new system of runway light fixtures and cables encountered its first storm and apparently sustained water damage, airport spokeswoman Kathie Rutherford said.

“This was a water-related problem. We have not pinpointed the exact cause, but our crews are working on it as we speak,” Rutherford said.

This was the second failure of runway lights at John Wayne in 24 hours. The airport was closed for almost an hour Sunday evening after a faulty Southern California Edison cable cut power to the runway and about 1,800 airport area residents.

An Edison spokesman said none of the company’s equipment had failed Monday.

John Wayne Airport is in the midst of a $310-million remodeling project. The runway lighting was completed within the last month.

“Like all things, when you install a new system, there always are going to be bugs and they have to be worked out,” Rutherford said.

The airport’s old lighting system also had a history of failures.

“This has been one of a series of problems that we have experienced over the last 4 or 5 months. Most of the failures have been caused by the old system’s age,” Rutherford said. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Ontario and LAX airports apparently were able to handle the additional flights and passengers.

“I have not heard of any problems, and I would be the first one to be notified,” spokesman Jack Doyle said. “During the evening at John Wayne, there wouldn’t be that many flights to handle anyway.”

A spokesman at Ontario Airport said that at least three flights had been rerouted there from John Wayne and that the additional traffic was not a problem.

A reservations clerk for USAir said the blackout affected eight inbound flights and canceled eight outbound flights.

“It’s a disgrace,” the clerk said. “They have had at least seven problems with those lights in the last 8 months. Our customers are missing their connections and understandably they are getting mad. The last time they said a rat bit the line and they say that they are fixing it, but frankly to me that’s like saying the check’s in the mail.”