Airport Regains Some Lost Traffic

John Wayne Airport has recovered more than half the passengers it lost after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, county officials said Tuesday.

“There has been a slow improvement,” airport General Manager Alan Murphy told the Board of Supervisors. “But uncertainty in the airline industry makes it difficult to know when a full recovery will occur.”

Murphy addressed the board as Supervisor Todd Spitzer questioned whether John Wayne Airport should continue to spend $25 million a year to help pay for the planning of a commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.

“It is our obligation to review, assess and discuss the financial fallout that will likely occur at John Wayne Airport in both the short term as well as the long term,” Spitzer said in a board memorandum.

Spitzer is a leading opponent of an airport at El Toro.

John Wayne, which handles about 7.8 million passengers a year, suffered a 34% decline in travelers during the last three weeks of September.

Because of the attacks, airport officials have forecast a $9-million drop in annual revenue while having to spend an additional $12.5 million a year for security.

Airport officials say they have sufficient cash reserves to help cover any losses.

Since the airport reopened Sept. 13, the number of passengers has steadily increased. The most recent figures show that John Wayne handled 132,161 passengers from Oct. 15 to 22--14% below the same period last year.

El Toro supporters have accused Spitzer of using the terrorist attacks to push for a cutoff of funding for a project that is important to the county’s economic future.

Spitzer has said he is interested only in making sure the finances of John Wayne Airport are sound.

Even before the Sept. 11 attacks, Murphy said in an August analysis that continued discretionary spending by the Board of Supervisors on El Toro “has had, and will continue to have, a detrimental financial impact on John Wayne Airport.”