Reconfigure Rather Than Expand LAX

Re “Aviation Officials Urge More Runways,” July 27: LAX does not need any more runways. What it does need is the movement of all cargo activity to Palmdale. That would provide many more slots for passenger service and alleviate traffic by removing noisy, smog-producing 18-wheelers. Also, move all light planes to other nearby airports, such as Hawthorne and Santa Monica.

More gates are needed--and can be provided--in the existing terminals by employing methods now in use at Dulles Airport in Washington. Planes stay on the tarmac and passengers are bused to them. The space now occupied by wings can then be used for gates. All planes are serviced on the tarmac, eliminating the need to cross active runways. For once, let’s do something simple and obvious that already works rather than spend billions on studies and complex solutions that only might work.

Judd Wenner

Los Angeles