FAA Denies Curfew Restrictions at Burbank Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) denied an application from the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to institute a nighttime curfew on air traffic at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank (BUR/KBUR). The authority had sought permanently to ban operations from 10 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. local time except for law enforcement, medical flights, emergencies, etc. Passenger airlines currently observe a voluntary curfew during those times, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In an Oct. 30 letter to airport authority Executive Director Dan Feeger, FAA Acting Associate Administrator for Airports Catherine Lang said the evidence submitted supported "two of six statutory conditions that must be met before the FAA can approve your restriction." However, all six must be met. She noted that "the issues and history precipitating the proposed noise restriction date back almost 40 years when a City of Burbank ordinance imposing a nightime curfew at BUR was struck down by the Supreme Court." At the time the airport was owned by Lockheed, which subsequently sold it to the newly created airport authority. The proposed curfew was opposed by air cargo and express operators including UPS, which operates four weekly flights into the airport that would be impacted by the curfew.

(AirTransport World - ATWOnline)