LAX expansion approved

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[ Even the press can't get Qantas right. but, it will
be interesting to see how this turns out... -Ed. ]

City Council approves LA airport modernization plan

Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - A massive overhaul plan that could cost up to $11 billion to
make the world's fifth-busiest airport safer and more modern was approved
Wednesday by the City Council.

Council members voted 12-3 for the Los Angeles International Airport
expansion, which has already cost $130 million to develop and would be
implemented in two stages.

In the first phase, which would cost $3 billion, a runway would be moved
and the airport would add more gates to the international terminal. The
airport would also build a consolidated rental car center, an elevated
people mover, transit hub, and an employee parking lot.

Because of a compromise reached between Mayor James Hahn and City
Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski and others, the more expensive and
controversial elements of the overhaul would begin only after further
study. That phase, to cost about $8 billion, includes construction of
a central passenger check-in facility and demolition of three terminals.

Altogether, the remodeling would be the largest in the airport's 75-year
history.

The council must vote again in December because the little-known county
Airport Land Use Commission ruled that the proposal violated the airport
land use plan. Federal officials, including the Federal Aviation
Administration, also must approve the plan before any construction
could begin.

Opposing the plan were two City Council members who are running for
mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa and Bernard Parks, and one member who backs
Villaraigosa, Jack Weiss.

Weiss said he doesn't believe the second phase would make the airport
safer as intended, and would invite legal challenges.

Airlines had praised the so-called "consensus plan," saying it was
needed to accommodate a larger plane, the 555-seat Airbus A380, which
is expected to begin landing in Los Angeles in two years.

"We want to continue our growth in Los Angeles," Quantas Airways
general manager Rob Sharp told the council at a Tuesday hearing. "We
want to be the first carrier to bring in the A380. To do this we need
this consensus plan. Any substantial delays could mean our operations
move to other cities."

After the vote, El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon said he was preparing a
lawsuit challenging the plan. Gordon and others in the city south of
LAX believe the expansion would increase noise and traffic.

Opponents said they had collected 17,000 signatures from nearby
residents who believe the overhaul is a bad idea. They want to limit
the growing number of annual passengers at LAX and spread future
growth in travelers and cargo to other airports in the region.

BL.
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