Safety issues arising from new design of Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX may be monitored

Reacting to the concerns of air traffic controllers, Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl said Tuesday he wants a council committee to monitor the efforts to resolve any safety issues that arise from the new design of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.

Rosendahl presented a motion at the City Council meeting, requesting that Los Angeles World Airports report to the Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee, which oversees Los Angeles International Airport.

“Safety is our No. 1 concern at LAX all the time,” said Rosendahl, the committee’s vice chairman whose district includes the airport. “I respect the people in the control tower. Their issues need to be discussed.”

The LAX chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. is concerned that the design for the $1.5-billion renovation of the Bradley terminal will block busy taxiways, ramps and gates from the direct view of air traffic controllers.

The remodel, which is a centerpiece of the airport modernization plan, includes about a million square feet of additional space, a grand central hall, two new concourses and gates on the west side of the terminal. The height of the roofline ranges from five to nine stories, higher than the current building.

Airport officials say that sophisticated radar, closed-circuit television cameras, relocating a taxiway and installing observation facilities to monitor gates and ramps should eliminate any problems.

-- Dan Weikel

Comments

[Andy K]

I don't have all the facts re the argument between the controllers and the airport CEO, but I do have an observation. I pity the workers who the CEO commands, in an interview she appeared argumentive, pompus and indignant that someone would dare question her. This observation was based only on one interview, but God bless the people who have to work for her.