Hints of Cooperation

The decision last month by Reno Air to adjust its early-morning flight schedule out of Burbank Airport bodes well for the ongoing negotiations over noise at the popular airfield. Neighbors of the airport balked when the airline proposed a 6:40 a.m. flight--20 minutes earlier than would be allowed under voluntary noise restrictions that limit flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Rather than aggravate potential customers and push ahead with the early departure time, Reno Air bumped the flight to 7 a.m.

Although such a concession might not seem like much, it demonstrates a cooperative attitude that has been absent in much of the debate over the future of Burbank Airport. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority wants to build a new, larger terminal to replace an aging, cramped facility that sits too close to the east-west runway. The proposal is a good one. But critics--including the Burbank City Council--fear a larger terminal would increase the number of flights out of the airport and make noise unbearable for neighbors. They want enforceable curfews that curtail nighttime flights, something airline executives claim would hamstring their operations.

Some set of guidelines exists that both residents and airlines can accept. But so far no one has been able to find them, and Burbank and the airport authority have spent millions of dollars on legal fees and public relations campaigns. Against that backdrop, the decision by Reno Air to unilaterally drop its early flight cannot be discounted. It shows how responsible businesses respond to community concerns.

At the same time, the airport authority has begun what is known as a Part 161 study--the only means through which the Federal Aviation Administration can approve flight restrictions at airports. The study has long been requested by Burbank in its quest to impose strict noise controls. Airport officials have vowed to conduct the study, but in the same breath said it would reveal that no flight restrictions were necessary. Hardly the atmosphere for objectivity.

With the study launched, though, Burbank should participate and cooperate to ensure that the study examines all of its worries. Most importantly, Burbank officials should promise to live with the results. Getting a curfew imposed by the FAA is tough, something that occurs only when the benefits of controlling noise outweigh the infringement on free and vigorous interstate commerce. Reno Air has shown that conscientious businesses can make good neighbors--and that doesn’t require a federal order.