Dear Sir/Madam
The Airport Authority makes much of the apparent dire straits which
Lindbergh Field currently is said to be approaching. This mantra has
been repeated since I arrived in San Diego more than 20 years ago. With
much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we are assured that the airport
will overflow its capacity soon; the Airport Authority's web site states
that the airport "will be unable to meet air transportation demands
as early as 2015". Why, then, does a very recent forward-looking
report on airport capacity from the FAA not include our airport? Use
your favorite web browser to go to http://www.faama.org/news/mts/MTS0504.pdf, and you'll
find a document published by the FAA manager's association in 2004.
Therein, you'll find an article entitled "INSIGHT: FAA's Office
of Airports takes a long, well-researched look at airport capacity
through 2020". And on page 9, you'll find a long list of airports
which have a capacity problem, or are predicted to develop one by 2020. And
nowhere on that long list will you see Lindbergh Field. As
an all-too-frequent traveller, I pass through many of the nation's
busiest airports, and Lindbergh is far better than most in terms of
vehicular access and passenger handling. Furthermore, according to
FAA records, the "on-time" status of flights in and out of Lindbergh
compares well with other busy national airports. Simply put, San Diego
doesn't need a new airport. Financial considerations also weigh against
it. At a time when our fair city is facing the consequences of financial
mismanagement, it is not encouraging to read, on the Airport Authority
web site, that the cost of a new airport and all of the associated
requirements "is unknown at this time". The site claims that
our local tax dollars would not be used to build a new airport; but
read carefully -- airport users would pay towards the cost, and local
residents would have to foot the bill for new roads, light rail etc.
I look forward to being able to check the box next to "keep Lindbergh
Field", when the opportunity to vote comes this Fall.
Sincerely
J L Whitton
University City
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