According to the Regional Aviation Strategy adopted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in April 2001, up to…
According to the Regional Aviation Strategy adopted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in April 2001, up to 167 million passengers each year may be using Southern California airports by the year 2025, doubling the 82 million recorded in 2001. Similarly, regional air cargo demand is expected to triple, reaching 9.5 million tons each year. However, the capacity of Southern California’s current airport system will fall significantly short in terms of meeting that future demand, and additional strains will also be placed on the region’s surface transportation around its airports without major improvements to existing infrastructure. To address these daunting challenges, SCAG reconvened its Aviation Task Force today, charging it with updating SCAG’s 2001 Regional Aviation Strategy to accommodate changes in passenger growth projections, airport security regulations, and local policy changes.
SCAG’s Aviation Task Force, composed of a diverse body of Southern California local elected officials, airport managers, and airline industry leaders, will be focusing on potential updates to the 2001 Regional Aviation Strategy, focusing on the implications of a series of local and national developments that have occurred since adoption of that strategy in April 2001. The Task Force will also focus on costs and other implementation issues associated with the strategy, as well as airspace constraints and other factors that could impact the Southern California airport system. Ultimately, the Task Force will develop and adopt an updated Regional Aviation Strategy as part of SCAG’s 2004 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which is scheduled for adoption in the spring of 2004.
The Task Force faces a number of different challenges as we enter this new phase of regional airport planning, said Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, Chair of the Aviation Task Force. This body serves as a vital forum in the ongoing effort to build consensus around a regional approach to handling Southern California’s air passenger and cargo needs.
In SCAG’s 2001 Regional Aviation Strategy, the Task Force recommended development of a decentralized airport system that provides for a fair share distribution of commercial aviation throughout Southern California, ensuring that no community bears a disproportionate share of the environmental burden of regional aviation activity.
Since adoption of the 2001 Regional Aviation Strategy, a number of key changes affecting the Southern California airport system have occurred which now must be analyzed to determine potential revisions to the existing strategy, including:
- The impact of September 11th, which depressed forecasts of passenger growth by approximately 5-10% and resulted in major financial setbacks for numerous airlines, consequently reducing their ability to contribute to aviation capacity development.
- New terminal security requirements that may decreasing capacity at certain airports.
- Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn’s new Master Plan for development of Los Angeles International Airport.
- Passage in Orange County of Measure W in March 2002, re-zoning the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for public parkland.
- March Joint Power’s Authority’s decision to market March Inland Port as an air cargo facility.
- Preliminary efforts to commence a new Master Plan for Ontario Airport.
Additionally, SCAG’s Aviation Task Force will launch a two-year regional airspace analysis to identify airspace issues and determine whether the Southern California airspace basin can accommodate the potential impacts associated with implementing the Regional Aviation Strategy. The analysis is unprecedented in scope, as it will examine the entire Southern California airspace region with a long-range forecast though 2030.
The airspace study will identify, define and analyze regional airspace issues projected out to the year 2030 by five-year increments. The analysis will consider schedules for new commercial airport development, operational constraints, and future flight paths for new and existing airports. The airspace analysis will be incorporated into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Airspace Redesign study, which will end up incorporating SCAG’s Regional Aviation Plan into the FAA’s airspace system.
Today’s meeting of the Aviation Task Force at SCAG is the first of a series of monthly meetings evaluating local aviation policy until the Task Force makes its recommendations to SCAG’s Transportation and Communications Committee in February 2003. The task force will then meet quarterly to review the environmental evaluation of the Adopted Aviation Plan in the 2004 Regional Transportation Plan Environmental Impact Report.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
