Airport curfew idea is picking up steam

AIRPORT DISTRICT — A proposed curfew that would ban late-night and early-morning flights at Bob Hope Airport has enjoyed widespread support throughout Burbank and the region, officials said Monday.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which is asking the Federal Aviation Administration to accept a ban on arrivals and departures at Bob Hope from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., has received 166 responses during the ongoing public comment period. More than 120 of those support the proposed ban, while 33 have spoken out against the measure. Others have written to the authority without expressing an opinion, according to airport spokesman Victor Gill.

At a meeting Monday in the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, a parade of supporters told the authority of the virtues of banning flights over Burbank and the surrounding neighborhoods at night, and asked that other San Fernando Valley residents be looked after as well.

“Thousands are impacted by the noise day in and day out in our tiny city of 17 square miles,” Burbank resident Rose Prouser said. “How soon can we grant . . . a full nighttime curfew? Hopefully, to the FAA, your answer is the time is now.”

The proposed curfew is the product of more than eight years of studies by the authority at a cost of more than $6 million, said Dan Feger, the authority’s interim executive director.

The measure includes certain exemptions for medical emergencies, aircraft delayed by harsh weather and military personnel, he said.

During the meeting, supporters from across the San Fernando Valley, including neighborhood activists from Sherman Oaks and Encino, spoke in favor of the ban.

But their support was tempered by one of the byproducts of the proposal: a regional flight shift from Bob Hope to surrounding airports.

If the ban is enacted, more than 33 flights will be rerouted to Van Nuys Airport, and five to Los Angeles International Airport. Other flights will be transferred to airports in Ontario, Long Beach, Camarillo and Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, officials said.

“We find it unacceptable for any airport, be it Van Nuys or Burbank, to shift noise to other airports,” said Gerald Silver, president of the Homeowners of Encino. “The residents living in the areas surrounding Van Nuys Airport need the same protection from noise from late-night takeoffs and landings as residents living near the Hope Airport.”