FAA Bill Passed Minus Curfew for Valley Airports

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected an amendment April 1 on a mandatory nighttime curfew at two San Fernando Valley airports as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill. The amendment for the curfew at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and Van Nuys Airport was voted down by a vote of 243 to 178. The curfew was backed by the three congressmen whose districts included the airports, Adam Schiff, Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, and would have applied to aircraft departures and arrivals between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., with exceptions for emergencies and military aircraft. The ban was opposed by the National Business Aviation Association, the Air Transport Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and a number of other aviation trade groups. While disappointed, the vote still showed considerable support that can built upon, Schiff said in a statement. “These airports should have been permitted to retain the curfews they had in place decades ago, and I am determined to correct this historic inequity,” Schiff said. Both Bob Hope and Van Nuys have voluntary nighttime curfews. The issue of noise generated by jets at the airfields has long been a contentious one for residents and government officials in both Los Angeles and Burbank. In November 2009, the FAA turned down an application for a mandatory 10 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. curfew at Bob Hope, saying the airport had failed to meet four of the six criteria required for such a ban. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority spent $7 million to put together its application for the curfew. The amendment, titled the Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act, would have corrected what the trio of congressmen and curfew supporters saw as the wrong decision. The vote by the House on the FAA Reauthorization bill follows a vote by the Senate in February on their version of the bill. Mark R. Madler