Airport traffic fix: Hang a left after 405

Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau has written a clear, concise statement about the settlement agreement, which limits passenger growth at John Wayne Airport (“Pride in airport deal is deserved,” Feb. 9). His letter should serve as a reference for Newport Beach residents who care about the expansion of John Wayne Airport.

We all should be proud of the consensus reached with the city, the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport in achieving this settlement agreement, which limits passenger expansion at John Wayne Airport to 10.3 million by 2011 and 10.8 million by Jan. 2, 2016.

However, there is no reason for complacency since passenger levels at John Wayne Airport have already reached 10 million. There is a steadily increasing demand for more flights at John Wayne Airport due to increasing population, which is the result of the unrestrained building boom in Irvine and other South County cities. Also, there is a 40% shortfall in airport capacity in the Southern California region, so many airports have reached their capacity.

These facts make us realize that the pressure to expand capacity at John Wayne Airport will continue. Newport Beach will bear the brunt of noise and environmental pollution as the planes take off from John Wayne Airport and continue for six miles over Newport Harbor to the ocean before they turn east toward their destinations.

There may be a solution to this victimization of Newport Beach residents. The flight paths for takeoffs out of John Wayne Airport were set when the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was in full operation. Now that El Toro is closed, this air space over El Toro is vacant and available. There is no longer a need for most planes to go six miles out of their way before turning east.

Why can’t they make a sharp left turn to the east shortly after take-off and then continue east over Santiago Creek?

A problem with this sharp left turn to the east is that it may affect some residences who are just south of the Corona del Mar Freeway (73). Our goal, of course, is to relieve all Newport Beach of excessive air traffic.

However, there is another solution. In order to meet the increasing demand for expansion of John Wayne Airport, its runway could be extended north over the San Diego Freeway (405), thus increasing the length of the runway and allowing for a left turn which would travel over no Newport Beach residences.

This solution to air traffic out of John Wayne Airport is a win-win for Newport Beach and for the airlines. The rising cost of oil and expensive airplane fuel, requires airlines to economize. With an immediate left turn out of John Wayne Airport, airlines would not have to detour six miles out of their way and could save millions of dollars in fuel costs and minutes of flight time.

I hope our elected officials in Newport Beach will work for this left turn plan with the same zeal they exhibited in pursuit of an updated settlement agreement.

SHIRLEY A. CONGER

Corona del Mar