Airport Correcting Curfew Application

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority will resubmit its application for a mandatory nighttime curfew of arrivals and departures at Bob Hope Airport. The revised document will address questions raised by the Federal Aviation Administration in March over inconsistencies on some figures included in the application. The authority is expected to resubmit the application in the next two to three weeks. “The hope is once the changes are made the document will be found to be complete,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “That begins the review of the application itself.” The FAA has 180 days to review the merits of the curfew request. A consultants study on the proposed curfew concluded that the $67 million in benefits outweighs the $48 million in costs to airlines, passengers, cargo carriers and general aviation by restricting airline activity between 10 p.m. and 6:59 a.m., save for some exceptions, including emergencies and medical flight aircraft. Noise generated by aircraft using the airfield has long been controversial, particularly for the authority and the city of Burbank. The authority began the study in 2000 to meet requirements set out by the Federal Aviation Authority to show that a curfew is reasonable and nonarbitrary; does not create an undue burden on interstate commerce or the national aviation system; does not conflict with federal law; makes efficient use of navigable airspace; and allowed for adequate opportunity for public comment. From interviews with general aviation companies based at Bob Hope, the study concluded that approximately 24 aircraft would leave the airport if the curfew was approved. The planes would relocate primarily to Van Nuys Airport, with some going to Whiteman Airport in the east Valley, and Camarillo Airport. Los Angeles World Airports, the owner and operator of Van Nuys, is looking at its own ban on certain jet aircraft at the Valley airfield to reduce the noise impacts on surrounding residential neighborhoods.