Long Beach

A federal judge has denied the city’s request that he change or repeal his 1983 order increasing the number of flights at the municipal airport from 15 to 18. U.S. District Judge Laughlin Waters said Monday in Los Angeles that the 18-flight situation should remain intact until the city’s airport noise study is completed in 1985.

Pacific Southwest, Jet America and Alaska airlines originally won the court order after the city took one flight from each of them and reassigned the flights to other airlines flying quieter planes. Waters then ruled that one flight each must be reinstated to PSA, Jet America and Alaska until the noise study is complete so that information is available for a settlement or trial.

Last month, the city asked Waters to reconsider the order because the council had revised its noise ordinances to “avoid the legal concerns (Waters) had at the time,” said Deputy City Atty. Roger Freeman. Also, Freeman said, the added flights have made noise problems more severe for airport neighbors.

But Waters criticized the city for changing the ordinances while the noise study is still being conducted, and asked airline attorneys to draft another injunction that would prevent Long Beach from enforcing the new noise laws, said Judith Chirlin, a Los Angeles lawyer representing Alaska Airlines.