Burbank Airport’s Easy Days Ending

Travelers cursed, stepped on strangers’ feet and elbowed their way through Burbank Airport’s packed terminal. Headed home to Texas for the holidays, Martine Bell sought solace in one fact:

“At least I’m not at LAX,” the Los Angeles waitress said, waiting for a plane last week. “It’s probably a lot worse there, but it’s not as easy here as I thought it would be.”

Many people share the belief that Burbank Airport is easier to navigate than Los Angeles International Airport. But in the months ahead, it might not be. New Federal Aviation Administration baggage check regulations and strict expansion restrictions at Burbank are likely to mean crowded terminals, longer passenger waits through security and a shortage of parking, city and airport officials said.

“We don’t know how this will play out,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “It’s going to be terrible for the customers.”

Beginning Jan. 18, the FAA will require that all checked baggage undergo some form of inspection for explosives. Techniques can include matching bags to passengers boarding a flight, hand searches, bomb-sniffing dogs and X-ray machines.

“I can’t imagine thousands of suitcases being searched in any rational manner,” Gill said. “Everyone is going to be concentrated in one area.”

Burbank Airport probably will bring in folding tables and conduct hand searches through luggage to comply with the regulation, Gill said.

In anticipation of the screenings, Southwest Airlines requested permission to enlarge its ticket counter by about 900 square feet to accommodate more inspection tables. The discount airline accounts for two-thirds of the 144 commercial flights that pass through Burbank each day.

But the Burbank City Council last week denied the permit because of a court battle over Measure A, an anti-airport expansion law passed by voters in October.

Local Measure Adds to Post-Sept. 11 Woes

Southwest had sought permission to expand because “we wanted more room for customers and ticket agents complying with heightened security,” said Whitney Brewer, a Southwest spokeswoman.

Burbank officials, however, said they had no choice under the ballot measure. Measure A prohibits the council from approving any airport construction or renovation unless certain conditions are met, including flight caps, a flight curfew, an environmental impact report and a master plan.

It also prohibits the airport from adding new runways or lengthening existing ones and requires approval by two-thirds of Burbank voters before a new terminal may be built.

The city of Burbank filed suit in October against the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, contending that the law puts it in an “impossible position.” The city is seeking court clarification as to whether it has the legal authority to enforce the law. The airport filed a countersuit a month later, asking a judge to dismiss the city’s claim.

Councilman David Laurell voted against the Southwest permit because he said it is an expansion and no such projects should be approved until the courts determine Measure A’s validity.

Money for Parking May Be Reallocated

Laurell rejected arguments that convenience for travelers should come first.

“Passenger comfort and convenience has not been synonymous in air travel for 20 years,” he said. “Everyone knows we were living in a different world prior to Sept. 11.”

Southwest’s Brewer said the airline will wait to see what happens with Measure A.

Travelers seeking to park at Burbank also will find little relief from crowded lots. Money allocated for a $10-million, 500-space addition to a remote parking structure may have to be used instead to offset a projected $7 million in revenue losses and extra spending for increased security, said Gill.