Stephanie Montuya-Morisky, acting director for public affairs at the Long Beach Airport, confirmed Wednesday that the staff plans to release a request for qualification (RFQ) before the end of August.
“The RFQ has not been completed yet, however it’s important to note that the previous studies are dated and do not reflect the airport’s current environment,” she said in an email to the Signal Tribune. “The current study that is being commissioned will be much more thorough, examining, among other issues, specific areas requested by council.”
It’s a first step needed before the report is completed and eventually deliberated by the city council.
The controversy over whether to build a customs facility at the Long Beach Airport has drawn criticism from groups like LB HUSH2, an organization that has, in the past, resisted massive airport expansion and actively advocates protecting the city’s airport noise ordinance.
In a phone interview Wednesday, LB HUSH2’s vice chair Joe Sopo questioned the need for offering international flights out of the Long Beach Airport.
“We have a wonderful airport,” Sopo said, adding that it shouldn’t be disturbed. “It’s got to be left like it is [because] it’s working, and taking any chances with doing anything with international flights is foolish.”
Sopo praised the convenience of the airport in its current form.
“If it’s working well, why mess with it?” he concluded. He noted that the issue has already been studied in the past.
JetBlue Airways has been at the forefront of the push to have the federal-inspections facility that would be needed in order for the airline to offer international flights. A spokesman for JetBlue Airways said in an email that the airline would abide by the RFQ process.
Right now, JetBlue has a consent decree with the Long Beach Airport to cover those times when the airline violates the noise ordinance. Noise violations usually happen when planes fly in or out of the airport outside of the established hours and/ or when they exceed the established decibel rates.
According to the May 2015 report on air-carrier noise at the Long Beach Airport, JetBlue was noted to have 28 violations for the calendar year-to-date.
Doug McGraw, director of corporate communications for JetBlue Airways, emphasized in an email to the Signal Tribune that they are making efforts to comply with the noise restrictions.
“We build our flight schedule to adhere to the noise ordinance and make every effort to respect that while ensuring our customers arrive safely to their destination,” he said. “On the rare occasions when a flight operates beyond the curfew time, it’s usually due to FAA-mandated air-traffic-control delays on the East Coast, where we have our four largest focus cities.”
According to its reports, the airport indicated that JetBlue has violated the noise ordinance at least a few times every month from January through May. With two violations noted, January was JetBlue’s lowest month for noise problems. With a high of 10 violations, March is so far JetBlue’s noisiest month of the year. McGraw was asked if the airline has any ability or commitment to reduce the number of violations.
“These flights make up a very small percentage of our operations and, in nearly every case, occur because of factors outside of our control,” McGraw stated in his email. “The alternative would be to cancel a delayed flight, but leaving customers stranded is not a good solution for anyone. We are continuing to work hard to do what we can to operate our schedule on time in compliance with the ordinance and to offer customers a great JetBlue experience.”
According to the council’s minutes from July, the scope of the report will be expected to include the financial feasibility of the project, a forecast of additional flights that would use the new facility, an assessment of the potential to lose the noise ordinance, a review of the security risks and a plan to address the environmental and health effects on neighborhoods and schools. At least two community meetings for the affected neighborhoods will be scheduled.
