Ask For An Extension Of The Comment Period

EAA and AOPA are asking the FAA to extend the public comment period from 30 to 60 days regarding a petition to impose a night flight curfew at the Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in Burbank, California. The curfew, proposed by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (BGPAA) for 10 p.m.-6:59 am, would force all users to transfer night flight operations to other regional airports, but since all airports in the region are already saturated with traffic, the curfew could adversely affect the national and local transportation system.

In a joint letter to the FAA, the two largest general aviation organizations requested the extension of the comment period which, according to the Federal Register notice dated June 22, 2009, would expire on July 20, 2009. An extension would allow local private and public airport users adequate time to determine how a curfew would impact the BUR and other airports in the Los Angeles basin.

“The proposal by the BGPAA only addresses local night noise issues and does not take into account key regional issues,” said Randy Hansen, EAA government relations director. Those issues include the impact on other airports that may not have the capacity, services or infrastructure required to support additional activities; as well as the effect on the Burbank airport’s revenue. The extended comment period would allow ample time to explore such issues.

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.aopa.org