Federal officials reject restrictions on night flights at Bob Hope Airport

Federal officials today dealt a blow to a decades-long fight to restrict nighttime flights at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

The Federal Aviation Administration rejected a request by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for a curfew. The FAA found that a curfew "was not reasonable"’ because it would "create an undue burden on commerce" and negatively effect the national air transportation system. It also said other alternatives are available for dealing with noise.

The agency announced its decision in a 43-page letter released today. The FAA said the airport authority can challenge the decision in federal court.

 The agency, in a briefing paper on its decision, listed six conditions the airport was required to meet, then wrote the word "failed" next to four of them. "A restriction proposal must, however, meet all six conditions," the paper says. "Based on the information submitted in this application, it is not likely the benefits will outweigh the costs to users."

Local officials have fought for years to restrict flights at the airport to reduce noise in surrounding residential neighborhoods. The Supreme Court even weighed in in 1973, striking down a Burbank ordinance banning overnight takeoffs from the airport, then called the Hollywood-Burbank Airport.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which operates the airport, sought to prohibit flights between 10 p.m. and 6.59 a.m. except for emergencies. But the airport’s request ran into strong political turbulence from Fed Ex, United Parcel Service and other cargo companies and trade groups that objected to a curfew as a burden on interstate commerce that would harm the economy just as it was showing signs of recovery. They also contended that a curfew at Bob Hope Airport would have a ripple effect on the national air transportation system, leading other airports to seek to restrict flights.

Opponents also accused the airport of exaggerating the noise problem and argued that there are other ways to address noise short of imposing a curfew, such as soundproofing more houses near the airport. But Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Howard Berman (D-Valley Village), among those pushing for a curfew, argued that it would provide "meaningful nighttime noise relief" to the communities surrounding the airport.

The city of Burbank said in a filing with the FAA, "While aircraft noise is a common concern in many communities, we are not aware of any other community in which the particular problem of nighttime noise has been so contentious for such a long period of time. In short, the nighttime noise problem has defined this airport and this community for several decades."

Curfew supporters argue that it would affect a small number of aircraft -- mostly cargo and private planes -- "an almost imperceptible number of operations in the context of the national air transportation system," as the city of Burbank put it.

The FAA had to determine that the curfew was "reasonable, nonarbitrary and nondiscriminatory," did not create an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce; maintained safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace; and did not create an undue burden on the national aviation system.

-- Richard Simon in Washington

Photo: A plane takes off from Bob Hope Airport in a 2005 file photo. Credit: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

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Comments

[Dick, Los Angeles]

What are these people thinking? They moved in next to or near an airport and now they are saying that the noise is to loud... Go figure...

I have a message, "If you don'd like the noise near the airport move!" Don't try and move the airport...

[RRW]

Airports generally make surrounding homes cheaper - people buy houses at a very good price. The tradeoff is a higher noise environment. To expect a cheap house AND no noise is asking way too much. Suck it up, people, or move. You can't have it both ways...

[mimi]

The airport was there before the houses surrounding it were built. People knew when they built those houses that there would be noise from planes taking off and landing. DUH. If they can't take the noise of modern aircraft, let them move. Leave BUR alone and allow it to function as a modern airport. Freight tends to move at night. Allow Fedex and UPS to function in a normal manner. Do not close BUR at night! This nonsense has been going on for decades. BUR also needs longer runways and should be allowed to take over adjacent property, demolish it and expand those runways into safe lengths for modern aircraft.

[kristin]

Burbank airport has been around since 1928. It was surrounded by empty fields. If people don't want to live next to a noisy airport, they shouldn't have moved there in the first place.

[JohnRJ08]

The night flights don't bother us much in Encino, but having been raised in Playa del Rey and the constant din of jets taking off and landing, I can imagine what it's like for residents near Burbank Airport. If the FAA isn't willing to reduce the number of night flights out of Burbank, perhaps they would be willing to enforce altitude rules for private aircraft flying over residential areas of the Valley. These squadrons of vintage aircraft strafe our neighborhood on a weekly basis, sometimes flying below 2,000 feet. It's like being in the middle of a World War II movie. We seem to have a "do nothing" Congress and "do nothing" FAA which are more interested in supporting "commercial interests" than the needs of the citizens.

By the way, a lot of people have moved into the vicinity of an airport and watched the noise abatement enforcement all but disappear. If you moved everybody out of the areas near airports in the city of the Los Angeles, thousands of homes would have to be purchased at market value by the City. Eminent Domain didn't seem to cover intolerable noise conditions.

[JohnRJ08]

My father purchased our home in Playa del Rey in 1958, when Constellations were still the biggest planes that took off from LAX. The noise was never an issue for us until the 707s showed up and the number of flights began to increase exponentially. My grandparents owned a home in southern Playa del Rey which was a beautiful place, but the noise became intolerable. Fortunately, for them, the City declared Eminent Domain and purchased their home at fair market value. Those who lived on the outer edge of that area weren't so lucky.

[Ryan D]

The noise created from BUR affects areas as far away as Encino - when you considered how much low circling happens.
I for one don't want night flights there either. It's bad enough to hear the crap from Van Nuys.
If you want to take a night flight, go to LAX

[Michelle]

Agreed, I'm going to guess that the airport was there first. So if you don't want to have a lot of plane noise... don't live near an airport!

[jONNY rEb]

I live under the flight path in neighboring North Hollywood so I've got a real perspective of things. First of all, the airport isn't as busy at night so activity level doesn't even come close to daytime departures. Also, I can tell (most) pilots do their best to cut down on engine noise when flying over the residential's and it's imperceptible unless I'm outside walking the pooch. I've got a thing for aviation so I don't mind the noise so much but here's my take: If these planes flew over swankier neighborhoods like Glendale or the hills above Burbank, you can bet your last dollar that some change in departure practices would've happend a long time ago. Also, while the airport's been there since 1928, Fed Ex, UPS and other night carriers haven't been so that arguement doesn't make sense.

[James from NoHo]

I live in NoHo and the plane noise during the day is out of control. If they want to allow planes to fly at night, it will be completely unbearable. I just purchased this home and have no plans to leave any time soon and this news is absolutely unwelcome. The members of the surrounding communities should be allowed to have a say in this since this decision will impact us directly.

[steven Sylvester]

Who was there first is not the issue. What is being discussed is the right of certain industries to noise pollute an area where people are affected.

[Andrew]

Some of the low flying jets appear around West Hills and Woodland Hills. So the problem of noise is far reaching. But I believe jet engines are getting quieter, so they'll be relief eventually, just not soon enough. Propellor planes may even comeback if there's economic incentive to save oil.

[Jean]

I live in nearby Toluca Lake and the sound the airport gives is ridiculous. The frustrating thing is it called the "Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena Airport" but the planes fly right over North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Valley Village. If they don't want to share the name, then the planes should take off to the East instead of to the West.

[Mandy]

It's so easy for people to say, "Don't live next to an airport." How about all those people who have been living next to an airport where the planes haven't been flying over them at night for years and years? Now they are changing the rules which will significantly affect everyone's quality of life in the East San Fernando Valley. It's already hard out there for people and the last thing we need right now is taking away our sleep.

[pam]

JohnRJ08 - the rules for private aircraft flying over inhabited areas say they must remain 1,000 feet over the terrain. The aircraft you describe ARE following the rules. Yet again, if you don't like airport noise, there are some lovely homes out in Valencia or Riverside for you to buy (and they're cheap now!)

[Ngan]

I live near the airport and most planes do follow the voluntary curfew from 10pm-7am. Once in awhile you hear an airplane, but overall it's not bad during the night.

what is bad is the trains honking the horns loudly! I understand it's for safety reasons, but the intersections have guard rails that come down. And do you really have to honk them for that long? Funny, you think it's the freight trains that are the loudest but sometimes it's the passenger trains that are louder.

[123xyz]

San Jose, CA airport has a curfew. It has been recently revised to restrict by noise level of aircraft--

"
FAR 36 Stage III aircraft at or below 89.0 EPNdB per FAR AC 36-1H average of takeoff/sideline/approach noise levels, or any other “grandfathered” Stage 3 Jet Aircraft can operate between the hours of 11:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
"

Oracle's chief Larry Ellison sued a few years ago to allow his relatively "quiet" jet to land there at night.

[Regis]

Comment from John "These squadrons of vintage aircraft strafe our neighborhood on a weekly basis, sometimes flying below 2,000 feet. It's like being in the middle of a World War II movie."

That's not a problem, it's actually a benefit! That's a FREE Airshow! You should be running out your door to see if it's a P-51 Mustang, or a Grumman Bearcat. Gawd! We've become a nation of crybabies. Back in the day, this was a welcome sight, but now we've been trained to react like scared little poodles when something noisy flies, drives or goes by.

I'll never forget the story my brother (who used to work at Galpin Ford) relayed to me about the day after the Van Nuys airshow a few years back. That Monday morning two F-4 Phantom Wild Weasel aircraft took off from Van Nuys in Full Afterburner, followed by the B-1B bomber with the cans lit.
The sound was awesome and it was quite a spectacle, but instead of "Wow" we got "Waaaaah! - WAAAAH! and the authorities recieved thousands of phone calls complaining about the sound. They should've ran out the front door to check out what the B-1B looks like with four General Electric F404's look like with a solid twenty foot flame out of each one!

What the heck happened to us!?! We used to drive real cars and now we're in Priuses among other things.

[LarryA]

I'm confused by this...hasn't BUR had a sort of voluntary restriction in place for years? (There were no passenger flights later than 9 or 10pm, right?) So, were people trying to make this even more restrictive, or does the ruling mean that there will be no restrictions at all?

[SDooDad]

San Diego airport has a curfew from 11pm to 6:30am--and it's the only airport around, unlike Burbank.

I can't see why Burbank is any different. It should have a curfew.

[Hal Bass]

"The FAA found that a curfew would negatively effect (sic) the national air transportation system...." The correct word is "affect."

Meanwhile, will it take a disaster before the FAA orders the terminal moved farther from the flight line?

[Luz MdC]

First, as a denizen of North Hollywood since 1975, I can tell that my memory is clear - the noise level back then was not as horrible as it is now. My parents bought their second home in North Hollywood due to the great public schools in the area. And the home price was NOT cheap either in those days. They did not buy at below-the-price because homes in 1975 were spared from the excessive noise, by HAVING FLIGHT CURFEWS!!! However, now there is no relief in sight, the beautiful neighborhoods of yesterday don't exist because you cannot listen to yourself speak, let alone think in without a plane flying over you every 3-5 minutes (yes, I did count the time on a watch). I also noticed that there is very little done in the flight path since it is obvious that these areas have become lower middle/poor class areas. Keep in mind, if you want children to excel in school they need a peaceful place to study - try attempting that under a plane path? And for Dick and others whom suggested moving out, "move where-Sherman Oaks, where housing starts at $800,000, if you are lucky and have a really small house?" Maybe Encino is a better choice??? Maybe Beverly Hills or Bel-air??? Food for thought folks!

cheers,

Luz, Yes, I am Mexico born and will be receiving my Ph.D. this academic year.

[R]

So, LA Times, who don't you post the 43-page letter or a link to it?

43 pages to say no? Sounds like a bloated government masterpiece, and I want to see it.

[Peter]

Thank goodness that cooler heads have prevailed!!!
I've lived in Burbank for the last 12 years, and how did I deal with the noise? I didn't buy a house next to the airport!! I live about 4 or 5 miles from the airport, and I hear maybe one jet a week. What's more annoying is the constant noise from the NBC and ABC news helicopters anytime someone crashes on the 5 freeway.

If anything, I want more flights out of Burbank. Save me the hassle of going to LAX.

[chris]

The negative effects of aircraft noise on health are very well-studied, from stress-induced illness to decreaseed school performance by children. Interrupted sleep also has negative effects on health. The FAA steadfastly refuses to even try to set maximum allowable levels of noise exposure from air traffic because they see their mission as promoting air travel, not protecting citizens. It is easy to "blame the victims" in this case, but this short-sighted attitude would also lead to no seatbelts, traffic laws, or pollution controls. I doubt many people would want to live in such a country.

[Sal]

The same message applies to those living under the flight path (as I did for 20 years, before I moved to quieter Hollywood!) as to those home-Moaners who whine every time a ten cent tax is proposed, new and unusual ethnic types appear in their previously pristine valley neighborhoods, and they have to deal with longer and longer traffic delays: unless you moved here in 1920, you knew you were moving into an intensely vibrant, growing city, with the economic benefits to match. Or, oh, did you think the city doors closed after you arrived?

Because, you know, if you don't like living the second-largest metropolis in the US - there's always Omaha.

[Justine]

The noise from Burbank Airport impacts more areas than the immediate vicinity. I live in Studio City and the planes are still very low and loud when they fly over my house. My neighborhood is definitely not cheaper because of the plane noise!

There is currently a voluntary curfew in effect at BUR and I am very aware when the plane noise stops at 10pm, and in the morning that first plane at 7am always wakes me up.

I am actually quite amazed that the airport authority itself is asking for the curfew on behalf of neighbors and I think the FAA should take that into consideration, instead of siding with Fedex etc. There are reasons for the curfew. This is supposed to be a small community airport, keep it that way.

They have a curfew at John Wayne airport, by the way.

[Mufon]

The word "effect" actually can be used as a verb, if used along with an object, as it was in this sentence.

[Mark]

To the people arguing that the airport should have more rights than the residents: Yes, the airport was there first, but times change. Orange County's airport has very restrictive rules, and it's just accepted. Why can't the same happen for Burbank? Is it because Burbank is less wealthy than the area around John Wayne Airport?

[M]

I live in Burbank and don't even notice the noise. Pick your battles people, this one is weak.

[Voice of Reason]

In the 60's and 70's, I lived in the Lennox (near LAX) as a child. The planes were so low that I could read the letters on the fuselage. It was second nature to stop talking when a plane was flying close. I would never lived close to an airport or under a flight pattern. A lot of the residence were used to of the night time ban at the Burbank airport and this is a rude awakening of the real life in the big city.