The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) ruled this week against the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena (Bob Hope Airport) Authority's application for a mandatory curfew from 10pm-6:59am. The news released this week, for those of you, like me, who have been following this issue for many years is disheartening, but not surprising.
To give you some background, Burbank, Los Angeles and Glendale residents have been advocating for this curfew since the 1970's. There is currently a voluntary curfew in place, but residents would like to make it mandatory as they see a risk of increased air traffic in the future.
On the good news front, this was the first application ever to make it through the entire FAA review process. The problem is that if the FAA rules for this curfew, then other smaller airports such as Van Nuys and Ontario Airports would be able to ask for the same treatment. The reason for the denial is that the FAA said the curfew would hinder business in the air and on the ground.
The next step appears to be litigation, which is supported by our local city officials and Congressman Brad Sherman. The request for a mandatory curfew would exclude medical, emergency and a number of cargo flights.
There are approximately 180,000 residents in Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles who live under the flight paths and the area homeowners are committed to getting this curfew in order to maintain their quality of life.
