Pilots Union Eases El Toro Opposition
The nation’s largest union of airline pilots on Wednesday modified its opposition to plans for a new airport at the retired El Toro Marine base, saying it would support it if takeoff and landing patterns are changed to ensure safer operation.
The Air Line Pilots Assn., representing 59,000 commercial pilots in the United States and Canada, released a statement supporting construction of the county’s plan for the airport “provided it is operated safely and efficiently.”
The association noted that passenger demand is expected to increase in coming years, fueling a need for more airports and runways.
“Adequate airline capacity is impossible without adequate infrastructure,” the statement said. “All parties must commit to bringing a realistic, commercially viable airport [at El Toro] on line.”
However, the union repeated two caveats unpopular with county airport planners: Takeoffs and landings should be allowed over the city of Irvine under certain weather conditions, and departures to the east must be forbidden because of hilly terrain.
The union also wants pilots taking off to the north to make an immediate left turn to avoid Loma Ridge, which then would mean the planes would fly over the communities of Orange and Tustin.
So far, however, the county has refused to consider allowing flights over Irvine or turning flights over Central County cities, fearing aircraft noise would attract too much political opposition. The current plan bars flights over Irvine and calls for planes to depart straight north, as well as to the east.
Jon Russell, ALPA regional safety coordinator, said the union issued its statement because the county is moving forward despite urgings by ALPA and others to change the runway alignment. The union also reviewed conclusions of an airspace study of the county’s plan by the Federal Aviation Administration expected to be released later this month.
“The county won’t realign the runways and they’re controlling everything that’s going on,” Russell said. “Our interest is in what needs to be done for safety.”
South County airport foes viewed the pilots union statement as a modification of its original protest over the county’s plan, first lodged in 1996.
“We’ve always known ALPA is in the business of airports,” said Meg Waters, spokeswoman for a nine-city anti-airport coalition. “We’re really pleased because we agree you can’t operate the airport the way the county has planned. If the county is going to build an airport there, they have to be honest about what they’re going to have to do.”
Orange County Supervisor Chuck Smith, who supports the new airport, said the airport plan was declared safe and workable in October by Herman Bliss, the FAA’s manager of airports for the Western Pacific region. County planners are awaiting the results of the FAA airspace study on how El Toro could be integrated into Southern California’s airport system.
“I have faith in the FAA and the airline pilots in that the FAA will determine safe procedures at El Toro and the pilots will fly those procedures safely,” Smith said.
Opposition to the county’s plan by the nation’s airline pilots, including the Allied Pilots Union, has been trumpeted by South County’s anti-airport cities. Brochures, newspaper advertisements and television commercials have quoted union statements that the county’s airport plan is unsafe and unworkable.
In a letter sent a year ago to county airport planners, Russell was blunt: “ALPA, therefore, cannot, and will not, endorse the plan as it is presented.”
The statement Wednesday said the union supports an airport at El Toro “at some reasonable level of annual operations, subject to certain conditions.” Building an instrument landing system for the western runway is critical, it said, so the runway can be used as an alternative to the north-south runway during winter storms and windy conditions.
Irvine city officials and the Irvine Co. staunchly oppose flights either taking off or landing over the city, which borders the western edge of the airfield. Central County officials protested a left-hand turn for northerly flights when they were proposed by the county in 1996. The turn was dropped from the current plan.
Proximity to the 8.4-million passenger John Wayne Airport also has been a concern. The Air Transport Assn., which represents the nation’s airlines, said in 1998 that its members wouldn’t operate from two airports so close together. A draft airspace analysis completed for the FAA last year said the airspace to the north already is too full with other jets and private planes bound for John Wayne, Los Angeles International and Ontario International airports.
Russell said the best situation for an airport at El Toro would be for the county to close John Wayne Airport to commercial flights. That would eliminate the problem of jets taking off from El Toro interfering with flights preparing to land at John Wayne, which is seven miles away.
