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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Airport Staff Studying Van Nuys Ban

Los Angeles World Airports staff moved ahead with a study on possibly banning certain types of noisier jet aircraft at Van Nuys Airport following a meeting July 17 at which concerns were raised on what the ban would mean for aviation businesses based there. At the meeting, the LAWA Board of Airport Commissioners faced residents supporting the discontinued use of Stage 2 aircraft at the Valley airfield as well as a handful of business owners. Some residents took pot shots at the airport’s aviation companies that fear a ban. One speaker charged the aviation companies with delaying an implementation of a ban, while another said the businessmen need to move on from using the older, noisier jets. “They must go,” said resident Charles Brink. “They must leave and let the community operate.” But Duke Tonry, director of air medical operations for Clay Lacy Aviation, said it’s financially impractical to replace the charter service’s 10 Stage 2 aircraft. “When we look at our future, our staff and our employees, if these rules are adopted 60 middle class people who work for us will be unemployed,” Tonry told the commissioners. Stage 2 is a designation by the Federal Aviation Administration for aircraft with a certain noise level when operating. Stage 1 aircraft are banned in the United States while Stage 3 aircraft are the quietest. Manufacturers stopped making Stage 2 aircraft in 1986. Van Nuys is home to 34 Stage 2 aircraft, airport manager Selena Birk said. The airport commissioners directed its staff to conduct studies on a ban that could be implemented in one of two ways. One path is to ban the aircraft under a 1990 resolution that calls for a seven-year phase out, starting with the noisiest planes. The other path is a prohibition that could be done in less than seven years and be more restrictive on the types of planes banned but needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

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