LAX WATCH : Airport 1993

Despite heavy politicking by the airlines, voters did the right thing earlier this month when they passed Proposition K.

This measure amends the City Charter, permitting Los Angeles to use surplus revenues generated by city airports to cover increasingly strained general fund services, such as police and fire.

As Los Angeles has grown over the years, so have its airports, particularly Los Angeles International. So much so that LAX generated a surplus of $25.6 million last year--even with decades-old leases under which the city charges airline landing fees significantly lower than those at other large metropolitan airports.

Under the City Charter, as well as federal law, LAX had to plow any surplus back into airport operations. These rules made sense when the viability of LAX was far from sure. They don’t now.

Passage of Proposition K was the first step in modernizing these arrangements. Amendment of federal laws and grant covenants that tightly limit the use of airport funds are next. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) has begun to explore what must be done.

But because the federal amendments could easily be more than a year away, the city must move carefully in the interim.

LAX’s 40-year operating agreements with the airlines expire next month. The city must not tie its hands anew by granting overly generous landing fee agreements. Moreover, the airlines must recognize that the voters demand a change; they should begin to cooperate.