Fires mean air travel delays, cancellations
Tim Willert
Wildfires continued to burn throughout Southern California on
Tuesday, but air travel at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport returned
to normal after a Federal Aviation Administration radar facility
reopened.
Air-traffic control operations throughout the region had been
hampered by the temporary closure of the FAA’s Southern California
Terminal Radar Approach Control facility at the Marine Corps Air
Station Miramar near San Diego.
The facility, which was evacuated because of the Cedar fire in San
Diego County, reopened early Tuesday morning, Burbank Airport
spokesman Victor Gill said.
“It means that people can expect to have a fairly normal travel
experience,” Gill said. “It reduces a lot of uncertainly.”
Travelers passing through Burbank Airport on Sunday and Monday
faced numerous delays and some cancellations.
Patricia Cavanaugh was among those who took the disruption in
stride.
“These things happen,” Cavanaugh said Monday as she waited to
catch a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland. “There’s nothing you
can do about it.”
Southwest, the airport’s primary carrier, reported delays of 60 to
90 minutes Monday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration
meanwhile, reported delays on all flights departing from Burbank
ranging from one hour and 31 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes and
longer.
Greer Doherty, a Sacramento resident visiting her sister in
Palmdale, was among those Southwest passengers who were stranded when
their Sunday flights were canceled.
“It’s nice to have another day with my sister,” Doherty said as
she waited in line to catch a flight Monday afternoon. “A lot of
other people are in worse situations, so this is pretty minor.”