Burbank, Van Nuys airports quarrel over noisy planes

FAA may need to settle issue

By Jerry Berrios
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

December 1, 2008

LOS ANGELES – In this tale of two airports, it's the worst of times.

A raging noise battle between Burbank's national Bob Hope Airport and the general aviation Van Nuys Airport is getting, well, louder. And residents at both ends of the San Fernando Valley are losing sleep over it.

While the complex air battle has gone on for months and might ultimately have to be decided by federal aviation officials, it essentially boils down to this:
Burbank wants to send 32 flights a day to Van Nuys to ease congestion. Van Nuys officials don't want any of Burbank's air traffic, but they want to divert their noisiest aircraft to Burbank and other airports.

Getting the two airports to play nicely in the control tower isn't likely to happen anytime soon. And residents would like both to stop squabbling and adopt a simple solution.

“Both airports should not be operating at night except for emergencies. Both airports are surrounded by heavily populated areas,” said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino.

“That's the fix . . . We want the whole valley quiet (at night).”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib ... noise.html