Airport sees steady climb in passenger tally

Paul Clinton

JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- It will be a milestone few outside the airline

industry will celebrate: John Wayne Airport is closing in on 8 million

annual passengers.

The airport is on track to hit that mark early next year, airport

officials said. Slightly more than 7.1 million have used John Wayne

through the 11 months ending in November, a 4.7% increase from 1999.

The monthly flight and passenger data also revealed a 17.5% decline in total operations at the airport over the same period. That includes a

23.5% fall in general aviation activity -- a category that includes

private jets, small planes, helicopters and other noncommercial craft.

General aviation, which makes up 74% of the airport’s flight total,

dropped from 350,422 to 267,982 on a year-to-date basis.

The data, collected by the Federal Aviation Administration, showed the

passenger count climbing from 6.84 million last year to 7.16 million this

year.

The airport probably won’t hit 8 million by the end of the calendar

year, an airport spokeswoman said.

It may not happen by Sunday, but the airport is on track to log 8

million bodies during the so-called “planned year,” from April 1 to March

31.

“We’ve never had 8 million,” airport spokeswoman Ann McCarley said

about the steadily increasing count. “It does get larger every year.”

Under a 1985 settlement agreement, John Wayne must not exceed 8.4

million annual passengers. Because of increasing air traffic demands,

local airport activists are pushing heavily for a second county airfield

at the closed El Toro Marine base. The fear is that without another

airport in Orange County, John Wayne would be forced to expand.

The airport hit a high-water mark in 1997, when 7.7 million were

shuttled through the gates. The airport saw about 7.4 million passengers

in 1998 and again in 1999.

The airport doles out annual flight capacity to each of the 10

commercial airlines that use John Wayne during the planned year. The

airlines apply for, and are given, passenger ceilings.

While most of the political debate centers on the commercial use of

the airport, the sharp fall in private use raised some eyebrows.

Increased fuel costs, stemming from the high price of oil, is the

likely cause of the drops, McCarley said.

On Tuesday, a manager at Signature Flight Support -- one of the two

general aviation operators at the airport -- declined to comment on the

drop. Calls to other managers at the company were not returned.

Craig Foster, a manager at Newport Jet Center, the other fixed base

operator, said he was surprised by the downturn.

“I was surprised to hear that the numbers were down,” Foster said. “We

just feel like business has been steadily increasing.”

However, Foster did say private pilots have expressed concern about

the higher fuel costs.

Air cargo has also dropped, according to the report. Cargo slipped

from 16,813 to 16,645 tons, falling about 1% from the previous year.