An annual analysis of aircraft operating noise at the Long Beach Airport has led to the conclusion that the city must offer nine more daily commercial flights in order to stay in compliance with the Airport Noise Compatibility Ordinance.
The City Council is scheduled to conduct a study session on the report at its Dec. 8 meeting. A memo from City Manager Pat West details the issue as part of the Dec. 8 City Council agenda.
The analysis, conducted by Mestre Greve Associates, is part of the compliance agreement settled in court in 1990. That was the year a baseline was established, figuring the “noise bucket” for three categories of airplane — commercial, commuter and general aviation.
Since that date, the commercial requirement was for Long Beach to offer a minimum of 41 flights a day. Currently, all of those flight slots are allocated.
A Noise Ordinance adopted in 1995 by the City Council requires an annual report on the noise experience in the previous year. The latest report covers Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015.
Those results showed the air carrier cumulative totals were well below the allocated noise budget. After additional study and an audit, it was confirmed that Mestre Greve’s conclusion that at least nine more flights must be added was correct.
Under the noise ordinance, it is the Airport Director’s responsibility to allocate the slots, a process that must be completed within 30 days of the determination that they are available. According to the staff report, the slots will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis. If more than one carrier requests slots, they would be allocated sequentially to each carrier until all the slots were allocated.
There is an appeal process, with the airport director’s decision appealable to the city manager. That decision can, in turn, be appealed to the council.
However, the ordinance requirements for slots must be met, or the entire ordinance could be in jeopardy. Long Beach is one of the few airports in the nation to have an ordinance allowing it to limit the number of flights based on noise.
JetBlue, the commercial carrier that holds most of the commercial slots, requested earlier this year that the city study and file for designation as an international airport. Results of that study have not returned to the City Council.
Source: http://www.gazettes.com
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