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Residents let feelings be known
Bob Hope Airport's proposed mandatory curfew brings in more than a dozen responses after only a few days.
By Jeremy Oberstein
BURBANK — More than a dozen residents have already chimed in since the 45-day public comment period began Monday for Bob Hope Airport’s proposed mandatory curfew.
“Most have been supportive, but one party took more of an airline approach,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “The general tenor of their letter was [that the curfew] tends to be an unfavorable development for commerce.”
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on March 17 unanimously approved the Part 161 Study, which included a mandatory 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on all flights with an exception only for emergencies and a one-hour grace period for weather-delayed flights. If the Federal Aviation Administration approved the curfew it will be the first of its kind.
In order to gain that approval, the authority is pressing its three governing cities to support the curfew and is asking them to do their part to ensure its passage.
Burbank airport commissioners addressed their City Council last week to formally unveil the plan and ask for their support.
The council on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to support the curfew.
That plan includes mailing notices to Burbank residents to detail the ban and encourage them to contact elected officials, outreach efforts of the council to elicit support from state and federal officials level, and sending a delegation to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional members and FAA representatives.
Rep. Brad Sherman, whose district includes Burbank, has already signaled his support for the proposed curfew and plans to lobby the FAA for its passage.
“It’s hard to judge what they will say,” he said. “Whether there is an absolute curfew or a curfew on departures, that’s to be decided. The FAA hears from the Transportation [Security Administration], but they also hear from me. Our hope is that they will make the right decision.”
Sherman plans to begin lobbying federal officials after studying the public’s response.
Reps. Adam Schiff and Howard Berman have also said they support the plan.
Airport officials also addressed the Glendale City Council Tuesday and plan to speak to the Pasadena City Council next week, Gill said.
The authority will hold a public workshop at the airport from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 14 where the proposed curfew will be laid out to the public and officials will be on hand to answer questions, he said.
While there is much support in Burbank for the curfew, not all have welcomed the proposal, Gill said.
“People are starting to blog about this and it’s not all positive,” he said.
Gill referred specifically to CrankyFlier.com, a Web site devoted to airline news that former airline marketing and sales manager Brett Snyder writes.
Snyder wrote about the curfew on March 25, advising people not to fly into Burbank near the proposed curfew hours based on the steep fines airlines would be forced to pay if they land or depart before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m.
Breaking the curfew would cost an airline $3,671 for the first violation, $7,342 for the second, $11,013 for the third and $14,684 for the fourth violation over a 12-month period, officials said.
“With penalties that steep, airlines will be less willing to schedule any flights near that curfew time at night for fear that they’ll miss it,” he wrote. “I don’t necessarily have a disagreement with the curfew in general but with its rigidity.”
Gill does not plan to include Snyder’s concerns as part of the official public comment.
“If they don’t submit it to us, we can’t be responsible for everyone’s comment,” he said. “There’s a whole universe out there.”
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@latimes.com.
“Most have been supportive, but one party took more of an airline approach,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “The general tenor of their letter was [that the curfew] tends to be an unfavorable development for commerce.”
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on March 17 unanimously approved the Part 161 Study, which included a mandatory 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on all flights with an exception only for emergencies and a one-hour grace period for weather-delayed flights. If the Federal Aviation Administration approved the curfew it will be the first of its kind.
In order to gain that approval, the authority is pressing its three governing cities to support the curfew and is asking them to do their part to ensure its passage.
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The council on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to support the curfew.
That plan includes mailing notices to Burbank residents to detail the ban and encourage them to contact elected officials, outreach efforts of the council to elicit support from state and federal officials level, and sending a delegation to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional members and FAA representatives.
Rep. Brad Sherman, whose district includes Burbank, has already signaled his support for the proposed curfew and plans to lobby the FAA for its passage.
“It’s hard to judge what they will say,” he said. “Whether there is an absolute curfew or a curfew on departures, that’s to be decided. The FAA hears from the Transportation [Security Administration], but they also hear from me. Our hope is that they will make the right decision.”
Sherman plans to begin lobbying federal officials after studying the public’s response.
Reps. Adam Schiff and Howard Berman have also said they support the plan.
Airport officials also addressed the Glendale City Council Tuesday and plan to speak to the Pasadena City Council next week, Gill said.
The authority will hold a public workshop at the airport from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 14 where the proposed curfew will be laid out to the public and officials will be on hand to answer questions, he said.
While there is much support in Burbank for the curfew, not all have welcomed the proposal, Gill said.
“People are starting to blog about this and it’s not all positive,” he said.
Gill referred specifically to CrankyFlier.com, a Web site devoted to airline news that former airline marketing and sales manager Brett Snyder writes.
Snyder wrote about the curfew on March 25, advising people not to fly into Burbank near the proposed curfew hours based on the steep fines airlines would be forced to pay if they land or depart before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m.
Breaking the curfew would cost an airline $3,671 for the first violation, $7,342 for the second, $11,013 for the third and $14,684 for the fourth violation over a 12-month period, officials said.
“With penalties that steep, airlines will be less willing to schedule any flights near that curfew time at night for fear that they’ll miss it,” he wrote. “I don’t necessarily have a disagreement with the curfew in general but with its rigidity.”
Gill does not plan to include Snyder’s concerns as part of the official public comment.
“If they don’t submit it to us, we can’t be responsible for everyone’s comment,” he said. “There’s a whole universe out there.”
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@latimes.com.
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