Airport curfew successful

Molly Shore

Nighttime flights in and out of Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport

have dropped to their lowest totals since the 1980s, and officials

credit an ongoing dialogue with airline carriers for a 97% compliance

with a voluntary curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

A new report issued by the airport showed only three airline

departures before 7 a.m. Because of the time it takes a plane to move

from the terminal gate to the runway, the actual takeoffs of those

flights occur after 7 a.m., airport spokesman Victor Gill said.

One Federal Express flight arrives at 5:32 a.m., but FedEx changed

a departure time from 6:41 to 7:02 a.m. to comply with the curfew, he

said.

“[The airlines] have acknowledged that they are doing everything

to align themselves with our requirements,” Gill said this week.

“There’s quite a bit of adherence, even though it’s strictly a

voluntary situation.”

A program initiated by the Airport Authority to deal directly with

airline management has paid dividends, authority President Charlie

Lombardo said.

“Whenever we’re notified of a flight that falls outside of the 7

a.m. and 10 p.m. operating hours, we will typically send a letter to

the chairman of the airlines,” Lombardo said. “I do think letters

coming from cities, as well as the airport, has a positive effect on

compliance from the airlines.”Although Glendale is not affected by

take-offs and landings, Commissioner Gerald Briggs said the curfew is

important to cities because of fly-over noise.

“Although the airlines have no legal obligation to comply, they

have done an extraordinarily good job of recognizing that the people

who live around the airports need their quiet time,” Briggs said. “I

think they have done a good job of complying with the curfew.”

Most of the landings occur from the west end of the valley on the

standard approach to the airport, Gill said. However, he added, the

majority of complaints are about airplanes taking off to the south

and circling over Burbank, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Studio

City.