FAA Chief Calls for Revised Airport Draft

A proposed ban on easterly takeoffs at Burbank Airport should be removed from the draft agreement for a new airport terminal, according to Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey.

The proposal had drawn heated criticism from residents west of the airport who said the ban would increase aircraft noise over their neighborhoods.

In a letter to the editor published Sunday in The Times Valley Edition, Garvey said the agreement must take such concerns into account.

“Everyone with a significant interest in the outcome must be at the table,” Garvey wrote. “Issues that affect parties who were not included in the discussion--such as the proposed ban on eastbound takeoffs--should be removed voluntarily from the framework.”

The proposed ban, however, would prevent jets from taking off over east Burbank and could help win Burbank voters’ approval of a planned ballot measure on the terminal project.

Burbank city officials downplayed Garvey’s comments, saying the Federal Aviation Administration has expressed concern with a number of issues in the settlement.

“The administrator gave us advice on how to handle a whole bunch of issues,” said Peter Kirsch, special counsel for Burbank Airport. “Some of those we have solved, and some we are still working on.”

Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills), who pressed Garvey on the departure issue, said he was pleased with her comments.

“I share Burbank’s desire to put limits on the number of daily departures and to restrict late night and early morning flights,” Berman said. “I disagree in their effort to put noise over a small portion of Burbank and communities west of the airport.”