El Toro Airport
* Re The Times report on John Wayne Airport (“Still Circling, 10 Years After Takeoff,” Sept. 17): Airport-demand exaggerations grow and grow like Pinocchio’s nose.
First of all, industry practice is to count everyone twice, once when they get on the plane and once when they get off. More important, estimates of “Orange County passengers” are not limited to those of us who live and work here.
A study conducted by Los Angeles International Airport showed that the largest segment--40% of county travelers using LAX--was visitors headed in and out of Anaheim/Disneyland. Please raise your hand if you really want to build a second Orange County airport to benefit tourists.
LEONARD KRANSER
Dana Point
*
* The gist of recent letters accuses Newport Beach of NIMBYism since it wants South County cities to share the load of Orange County air traffic.
None of these folks are willing to admit that Orange County needs a two-airport system in order to meet the future demands of the global economy. Can Los Angeles County be expected to carry our air traffic load forever? Even if John Wayne Airport is expanded to double or even triple its current capacity, this small airport (510 acres) will never be able to handle the total demand of both passenger and cargo loads.
VIVIAN McLEAN
Newport Beach
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