Support Grows for Irvine Air Terminal

Irvine officials are considering building a satellite airline terminal that would shuttle passengers--and their luggage--to John Wayne, Long Beach, Ontario and Los Angeles International airports by bus.

The idea emerged two years ago and is now gaining support at Irvine City Hall as the debate continues over a proposed commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine base, at Irvine’s city limits.

Irvine officials and south Orange County residents strongly oppose the airport, which is being pushed by the Board of Supervisors.

Irvine officials see the bus service as a way to streamline traffic to LAX and encourage travelers to use the new Ontario International Airport terminals, eliminating the need for a new El Toro facility.

“We know there is grossly underutilized capacity at Ontario airport, and we know that people there want more airport capacity, and one way to promote that is to provide a greater number of these flyaway facilities throughout the Southland,” said Irvine Councilman Chris Mears. “Residents could buy their airline tickets, check their baggage and with speed be taken to Ontario airport or LAX.”

Irvine council members are expected to vote on the plan in the next few weeks.

Airport supporters say the plan is a diversionary tactic that doesn’t address the issue of providing South County residents with an air travel facility to meet their needs.

“I don’t think people will use it,” said Dave Ellis, a consultant for the Airport Working Group, which supports an airport at El Toro. “I think Irvine would be better off subsidizing Super Shuttle trips.”

Two sites have been named as potential locations for Irvine’s proposed remote terminal: the Irvine Transit Center on Ada and Barranca Parkway, which serves Amtrak and Metrolink passengers; and the Irvine Business Center on Park Plaza, near Jamboree Road and Main Street.

“The bias is toward [the Irvine Transit Center] because it makes sense there,” Mears said. “We have the train that will convey passengers to the [airline] terminal’s doorstep, and the intention is to greatly expand the parking capacity there anyway. It would become the transportation hub for the city.”

The city estimates it would cost about $2.5 million to expand the Irvine Transit Center with more parking and construct a 3,250-square-foot facility to house airline and bus ticket counters, a car rental office, information and security desks, a waiting room and restrooms.

Suggested fees are $5 per day for parking and $20 for the round-trip shuttle service to LAX. With later increases in fees, city officials believe the terminal would turn a profit after six years.

If the plan is approved by the City Council, Irvine officials will seek grants and private partnerships to cover the costs, according to a city report.

A similar facility already exists at the Van Nuys airport in the San Fernando Valley, shuttling 700,000 passengers a year to LAX and back. Parking costs $2 a day at the Van Nuys FlyAway terminal, and the round-trip shuttle to LAX costs $6 for adults.

The idea to build a center in Irvine is popular with officials from Los Angeles World Airport, which operates both LAX and Ontario airports. It will help ease traffic along the San Diego Freeway and promote use of Ontario facilities, they said.

But it won’t solve all Southland air-traffic problems, said Lydia H. Kennard, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports.

“Los Angeles World Airports absolutely supports this kind of effort as an important first step in meeting the air service needs of Orange County residents,” Kennard said. “However, we want to emphasize our view that this action in no way removes the need for Orange County to expand its airport facilities in a way that will allow the county to handle its fair share of the region’s passenger and cargo traffic.”