Obstacles Seen to Night Flight Limits at El Toro

Limits on night flights at the proposed El Toro airport would be a tough sell to federal officials, experts say, and the county is unlikely to achieve the kind of sweeping night curfew that made the 1985 John Wayne Airport expansion palatable to nearby residents.

Pro-airport county supervisors have long told foes of an airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station that they would push for such restrictions to limit jet noise and make the plan more acceptable.

But according to aviation planners and a review of national airport policies, efforts to obtain such nighttime regulations face several key obstacles, most notably a 1990 federal law that prohibits airports from imposing flight restrictions without approval from either the Federal Aviation Administration or the airline industry.

Since the law was passed, no commercial airport has won mandatory flight restrictions from the FAA, even though communities from Seattle to Cleveland have sought them.

As a result, some airports have turned to voluntary flight restrictions as a way of reducing night noise. But those efforts have met with mixed results because airlines aren’t penalized for violating the voluntary limits.

El Toro opponents said Monday that their meetings last week in Washington with FAA officials and airline executives left them more pessimistic than ever about winning a night flight ban at El Toro.

“The county has talked a lot about protecting the residents with curfews,” Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea said. “But it’s very clear from our discussions in Washington that the federal government doesn’t want local governments to impose curfews. I think we are looking at 24-hour operations at El Toro.”

Under the airport plan endorsed last month by the Board of Supervisors, nearly half the cargo flights and 16% of passenger flights at El Toro would take place between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. by 2020, unless restrictions are imposed.

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But county officials maintained Monday that the projections were highly preliminary and that more detailed studies now in the works should show less demand for night cargo flights.

Moreover, they still express optimism that some night restrictions can be worked out because of El Toro’s unique status as a completely new commercial airport.

“The FAA is concerned with [increasing] national air capacity,” said Courtney Wiercioch, the county’s El Toro planning manager. “Even with restrictions, we are adding capacity with El Toro. There are clearly more benefits in having an El Toro airport with restrictions than having no service at El Toro.”

The FAA has refused to comment on issues involving the airport until the county submits a final plan in the summer of 1999.

The Board of Supervisors has never stated it would scuttle the airport without some type of night curfew--though it has often discussed a willingness to have them.

Supervisor Charles V. Smith, a strong airport backer, said he doesn’t see El Toro getting the blanket ban on night commercial traffic enjoyed by John Wayne. But he does expect some modest night restrictions.

“I don’t think a full curfew is necessary, but the staff has not determined that yet,” Smith said. “I think you will see some cargo flights coming in at night, but I don’t think it will be a problem in terms of noise for the surrounding area.”

John Wayne is one of dozens of airports that prohibit jet flights during the hours that most people sleep. John Wayne’s curfew is one of the most restrictive, banning all takeoffs between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Incoming flights generally are permitted to land until 11 p.m.

Lindbergh Field in San Diego prohibits departures between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., while San Jose International bans all commercial jets during those hours.

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The John Wayne rules were crafted as part of delicate negotiations to expand the airport in the mid-1980s. The curfew marked a turning point in efforts to win support from nearby residents in Newport Beach.

But that was before Congress passed the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, which required airports seeking curfews to either get the support of all the airlines they serve or go through a complex review by the FAA.

The law was enacted after some air carriers became concerned that the growing number of airport curfews was threatening their operations--especially cargo companies that handle overnight packages.

Residents who live around existing airports in Tacoma, Wash., Cleveland, San Francisco, Austin, Texas, and elsewhere have pressed for noise restrictions. But they have been thwarted by either airport officials or the FAA.

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Some airports have turned to voluntary curfews that are agreed to by officials as well as the airlines.

At Westchester County Airport in New York, residents and city officials have complained that airlines and cargo companies regularly violate the voluntary restriction on flights between midnight and 6 a.m. The number of flights during those hours more than doubled during the last three years.

At the new Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, voluntary limits have proved more successful. But officials there say some air carriers violate the rules at least once a day.

Voluntary flight restrictions are one option Orange County will explore next year when it begins looking at ways to mitigate airport noise at El Toro.

But Michael Gatzke, the county’s attorney on the El Toro issue and the man who helped craft the John Wayne curfew, said he doubts officials would take that approach because it requires all airlines that use the airport to sign on.

“There will always be one or two carriers that object,” he said.

Rather, Gatzke said the county is more likely to seek binding restrictions from the FAA. Under the 1990 law, the county is required to perform a cost-benefits analysis and examine how restrictions would affect air safety, interstate commerce and the airlines that use El Toro.

County officials are counting on the analysis to convince the FAA to allow limits on night air traffic. Because El Toro is a new airport, restrictions can be imposed without reducing current air capacity.

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But attorneys for South County cities aren’t so sure. “Our sense is that the [FAA] doesn’t want anything that would artificially constrain [air] capacity,” said attorney John Mietus, who represents anti-airport forces in Washington.

Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson on Monday blasted county officials for talking about flight restrictions without fully explaining to South County residents all the obstacles.

Spitzer also challenged Gatzke and other airport planners to travel back to Washington and prove that night-flight restrictions are feasible.

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* VIEWS AIRED

A North County town hall meeting drew a small, mostly anti-airport crowd. B1

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Night Flights

Under the airport plan endorsed by the Board of Supervisors, an El Toro airport would have about 500 daily landings and departures by 2020. Here is a preliminary breakdown of when flights would occur if there are no night flight restrictions:

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Cargo Passenger Day (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) 31% 70% Evening (7-10 p.m.) 22 14 Night (10 p.m.-7 a.m.) 47 16

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Source: County of Orange