BURBANK : Southwest Flights Cut at Burbank Airport

Southwest Airlines has reduced flights in and out of Burbank Airport from 710 to 694 a week, citing smaller demand than expected on Saturdays.

Cuts in the airline’s operations nationwide, including those at Burbank Airport, were made earlier this month and are unrelated to complaints about noise, a Southwest spokesman said Monday.

“If customers don’t want more service, obviously we’re not in the habit of flying planes around empty,” said Edward Shelswell-White, a district manager for Southwest, Burbank Airport’s largest carrier.

Southwest cut 16 weekend flights to and from Sacramento, Oakland, Phoenix and San Jose, and now has an average of 84 planes leaving and arriving at Burbank Airport on Saturdays.

Airport Executive Director Tom Greer said such a reduction in flight service is not unusual.

It did not ease the concerns over noise of one homeowner who lives under the flight path. “It’s so bad now that there would have to be a higher percentage of cutbacks before we’d notice any significant difference,” said Jim Gordon, co-founder of the Burbank Flatlanders Home Protection League.