FAA Refuses To Ban Night Flights At Southern California Airport

The FAA has rejected a proposed ban on night operations at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, saying the ban would harm the nation's air transportation system.

The  battle over nighttime operations at the airport has been going on for decades. It would have included a ban on all flights, private and commercial, with exceptions made for emergencies, from 2200 to 0659. The Los Angeles Times reports that airlines currently operate under a voluntary ban during those hours.

The 42-page document published by the FAA said the airport would have had to meet six criteria to justify imposing the ban. The airport authority met only two: The FAA found they did make ample opportunities for public comment available, and that the ban, since it would apply to all aviation activities was not discriminatory. But the FAA found that imposing the curfew would not maintains safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace, did not show that the proposed nighttime curfew at BUR would not create an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce, and did not prove that the proposed restriction does not create an undue burden on the national aviation system.

The FAA prefaced the report by saying in a letter to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Executive Director Dan Feger that "this is a final decision of the Administrator for purposes of judicial review."

FMI: www.faa.gov