Airport
expansion concerns community
By Li-Wei Yang
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
JetBlue
Airways’ ambition to transform Long Beach
Airport into a major west coast hub has
raised some anxiety among residents and
students nearby.
For months debates have raged in the Long
Beach City Council on whether future expansion
would hurt the city’s quality of life. Opponents
to the expansion have expressed fear that
the proposed expansion would turn Long Beach
Airport into a second LAX. Currently the
number of commercial flights for Long Beach
Airport is limited to 41 daily, but there
have been persistent calls made by several
airlines to increase that number.
“Right now I have heard enough airplanes
flying above us everyday, and it is bothering
me already” said Karen Lin, a junior art
major at Cal State Long Beach. “If they
decide to expand the number of flights even
more, the noise level would be unbearable.”
Despite nearby residents’ continuous complaints
about future airport expansion and noise
level at the city council meetings, JetBlue
believes that the majority of Long Beach
residents are overwhelmingly supportive
of adding more flights to Long Beach Airport
because of added convenience for travelers.
As a result, a survey was commissioned in
mid-February by JetBlue to find out how
widespread the opposition really was; it
reported that 83 percent of the 900 registered
voters agreed that Long Beach Airport is
a “valuable asset” because it stimulates
local economy. Moreover, the survey showed
79 percent said they would support airport
expansion if it does not violate the city’s
noise ordinance.
“I believe that the plan of JetBlue’s expansion
will not make a difference in the noise
level. Because the noise that the planes
do already make is a part of life that I
gotten use to,” said Jose Renteria, a junior
film major. “The local economy will benefit
greatly because of all the extra jobs the
expansion will produce.”
“I am really anxious to set the record straight,”
David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue, told the
Long Beach Press-Telegram. “That the people
are being governed by a vocal, very slim
minority that show up at meetings and make
a fuss and they think that is the will of
the people.”
But members of the opposition group, LBHUSH2,
and council member Tonia Reyes Uranga, dismissed
the report entirely because they say the
survey questions were designed to give JetBlue
the edge. Uranga said the questions forced
residents to answer only if it is wise to
close the airport.
“There is nothing in between,” stated Uranga
in the Press-Telegram article. “You can
craft questions to get what you want.”
Still, even if JetBlue abandons its plan
to expand the Long Beach Airport, other
airlines — most notable American Airlines
— are likely to pursue this matter further.
Last year officials at American have tried
to persuade authorities at Long Beach Airport
to relinquish some of JetBlue’s unused flight
slots and issue them to American so that
more flights could be added. American has
also asked the city to lift the numbers
of daily flights. Currently, JetBlue offers
travelers seven destinations from Long Beach
Airport and American offers two.
It is unlikely JetBlue would abandon its
expansion plan soon. Last week the company
announced it has placed an order with Brazilian
Jet maker Embraer for 100 regional jets,
valued at about $3 billion.
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