What Is the Best Solution to San Diego’s Nagging Airport Problem? : Border site: An international facility at the border on Otay Mesa, dismissed in the past, remains the best solution.

There is nothing more powerful than a good idea. No matter how many times it appears defeated, a good idea will rebound, just by force of its veracity. Such is the case with the idea of a binational airport on the United States-Mexico border on Otay Mesa.

Defeated in the 1970s, the idea once again is being considered as an alternative to Lindbergh Field, our hemmed-in, overburdened, downtown airport.

The reasons to choose Otay Mesa as the site of our new airport are simple and compelling: The land is there, the airspace is there, and it is located in the middle of a booming metropolitan area containing two major cities, San Diego and Tijuana--both of which will soon need expanded airports. (On Friday, the San Diego Assn. of Governments’ staff recommended discussions with the U.S. and Mexican governments about establishing a binational airport on Otay Mesa.)

Such an airport could be located--with runways straddling the border, for example--between San Diego’s Brown Field and Tijuana’s Rodriguez International Airport.

The beauty of the proposal is that it requires no infringement on the sovereignty of either nation, because each could develop separate customs facilities within the airport. Air space would be controlled by a single tower, which could be staffed by officials from both nations.

The obstacles standing in the way of such an airport are not physical. They are human-produced and probably surmountable.

Time and again, critics of a binational airport on Otay Mesa say it won’t work because we could not fashion a deal with the Mexicans. They say this without even trying.

But the time may be right to reach an understanding with Mexico.

For starters, the binational obstacles should become easier to transcend because our interests are converging as never before. In part, this convergence results from the phenomenal population and economic growth both our cities are experiencing.

Another factor is the changing nature of worldwide economic realities, which make it imperative that both cities work to maximize the benefits of their border location--a distinct advantage in the competition for Pacific Rim business.

From the Mexican perspective, a border airport can be viewed as a natural extension of the concepts that underline the twin plant program.

A border airport would be a boon to tourism, both in the San Diego area and for Tijuana and points south.

And, as both nations struggle with balance-of-trade problems, in part brought about by worldwide conditions, such an airport could provide a window to new markets, investment and hard currency. It could be the first major step toward the type of integration of our two nations’ economies envisioned by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

Beyond the benefits, one key factor enhances the feasibility of a joint-use airport: both sides could bring to the table a valuable element that could make such a project work.

Culled down to its simplest terms, development of a joint-use border airport requires San Diego to provide the additional land and Tijuana to provide the airspace.

On Otay Mesa, San Diego has available thousands of acres of vacant land. South of the border is Tijuana’s airport and its approach routes through the mountains. Without the land in the United States or the air space over Mexico, there can be no border airport.

Given the other options available for airport expansion, San Diego should negotiate with Mexico. Lindbergh Field can remain as an airport serving short-haul commuter flights. But expansion of Lindbergh Field is no long-term solution to our airport needs and at worst could make the already unsafe airport more life-threatening.

Use of the Miramar Naval Air Station should be ruled out. Even if the Navy were willing to leave, would we want them to? Think of the economic dislocation that would be caused by moving the Miramar Naval Air Station out of San Diego.

Now we hear far-fetched talk of offshore or desert airports. Certainly the obstacles of a joint development with Mexico are less daunting than building either of these, and would do far less environmental damage. An Imperial County airport also would rob San Diego of the economic benefits that airports bring.

In fact, a binational airport on Otay Mesa, already well served by San Diego’s highway and light-rail systems, is the only sensible option from economic and environmental standpoints.

A binational airport on Otay Mesa would be a showcase of international cooperation. Working with Mexico in a spirit of good will can make this vision real.