Burbank Airport Delays New Terminal

Citing an uncertain future for the airline industry and the unknown impact federal security requirements would have on airport development, Burbank Airport officials voted Thursday to put plans to build a 14-gate terminal on hold.

A decline in the number of flights and passengers since the Sept. 11 attacks will cause the airport to lose from $750,000 to $1 million in operating revenue for the month, said Chris Holden, president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which runs the airport. The figure does not include losses sustained by the airlines or concessions operating at Burbank Airport.

The authority’s decision is a further sign of the precarious financial situation regional airports find themselves in after the attacks. Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates Los Angeles International Airport, said this week it will redraw its expansion plans to focus on security and safety.

In Orange County, John Wayne Airport is projected to lose $9.2 million in revenue this year and spend $12.5 million more for heightened security, according to county records obtained Thursday.

Holden said there are “just too many questions without good answers for us to make good judgments on a significant project” like the Burbank terminal.

The action by the Airport Authority came just hours after President Bush addressed thousands of workers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where he urged Americans to keep flying.

Holden sent letters Thursday to the mayors of the three cities that own the airport, notifying them of the action.

“Like the rest of the nation, the Authority is monitoring the steps being taken by the federal government and the airlines to ensure safe and economically viable aviation,” Holden wrote. “We believe this will be the priority that will engage all of us for the foreseeable future. Until that goal is achieved, the terminal replacement issues that have occupied our attention will have to remain on hold.”

The authority also voted to stop efforts to sell an 81-acre parcel formerly owned by Lockheed Martin that had been considered a desirable location for the terminal. The Burbank City Council must approve the plan to stop pursuing the sale under a previous airport development agreement.

Despite the expected lost income, John Wayne officials said they will survive the economic blow and eventually recover. Financial statements show the airport has at least $38 million in cash reserves, some of which could be used to cover any deficits.

“We are not worried about a loss this year,” said airport Deputy Director Christie McDaniel. “John Wayne Airport survived the Gulf War and the Orange County bankruptcy. We will weather this and meet our expenses.”

John Wayne, which handles 7.8 million passengers a year, suffered a 58% drop in travelers in the period from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20, according to a memo written by airport director Alan L. Murphy. But officials said the number of passengers has increased somewhat this week, though exact numbers were not available.