More Flap Over the El Toro Airport

* SCAG projects a reasonable 13% gain in Orange County population by 2020, but an incredible 200% growth in Orange County air travel (from 12.5 million at John Wayne and LAX today, to 38 million passengers per year in 2025). The projected near tripling of the rate at which we all fly (to 12 flights per county resident in 2025, from 4.5 today) defies reason.

LAX’s greater number of flights and destinations, its complete dominance of international travel and its greater accessibility to travelers in western and northern Orange County result in 40% of all Orange County travelers using LAX; this will remain true in 2020, but SCAG projections mysteriously ignore this.

Rationally, Orange County air travel should grow no more than 67% before county build-out in 2020, to 12.5 million passengers at John Wayne (from 7.5 million today), and to 8.3 million passengers at LAX (from 5 million), a far cry from the SCAG projection of 38 million.

John Wayne Airport easily can serve 12.5 million without physical expansion or nighttime flights. Supervisors Jim Silva, Chuck Smith and Cynthia P. Coad should stop wasting precious county funds to build an unneeded and unwanted airport at El Toro. And SCAG planners should revisit their projection calculations.

MICHAEL SMITH

Mission Viejo

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* Advocating an expansion of passenger load at John Wayne by the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority is not news. The real news would be that the same panel truly finds a solution to our and their future transportation needs without dumping on its neighbors.

One of the least contentious solutions to our future transportation needs is through building an extensive and efficient public transit system to bring us to outlying locations and under-utilized airports. Our transportation needs never can be solved by everyone adapting a “not-in-my-own-backyard� attitude.

JOHN T. CHIU

Newport Beach

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* Re “County Considers $5 Million for Airport P.R.,� March 3:

It is about time! The citizens of Orange County just might get the whole story about El Toro airport instead of only propaganda perpetrated by cities and activists opposed to the airport.

The past few years anti-El Toro airport brochures have peppered my mailbox with outrageous claims of problems associated with the new airport. Common sense told me half of the material contained within them had to be false.

Finally, yes finally, the county is planning to get the truth and factual information out to everyone. Every citizen deserves to know the reasons why El Toro airport will benefit them.

LORRIE ALEXANDER

Tustin

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* Re “Winds Could Close El Toro, Pilots Say,� March 20:

Is it possible to start a recall movement against the three supervisors who support El Toro? Not only South County would be affected, but also Anaheim Hills, Orange and Tustin. How long can this dollar bleeding continue? The last paragraph says, “To date, the county has refused to consider allowing flights over Irvine or turning flights over central county cities, fearing aircraft noise would attract too much political opposition.� What more needs to be said?

ANDY ABRECHT

Aliso Viejo