South County Is Still Your Enemy, Moorlach Said, Clarifying Later He Was Speaking About

“South County is still your enemy,” Moorlach said, clarifying later he was speaking about Leonard Kranser, a Dana Point resident who opposed an airport in El Toro. “We get regular e-mails that tell us John Wayne Airport can handle a lot more flights.”

Moorlach, and his Chief of Staff Mario Mainero, outlined the goal at John Wayne was to extend the settlement after it expires in 2015, keeping, along with current capacity, noise levels and flight curfews the same.

The AWG entered into a 1985 settlement agreement with the Board of Supervisors, the city of Newport Beach and the environmental group Stop Polluting Our Newport that placed limits on John Wayne Airport’s number of passengers, daily departures and more. The agreement was amended in part in 2003. The limit of 10.3 million annual passengers is set to expire in 2010, with a subsequent cap of 10.8 million passengers to end in 2015.

“Let’s start planning a strategic plan to have a good marketing appeal,” Moorlach said. “If you’re shooting at the wrong target, they may bag you again.”

Law states a new extension can’t be negotiated until 2011, Moorlach said.

The airport is in the process of adding a terminal and remodeling at a price tag of $600 million. Some have alluded to that construction as an expansion, which prepares the airport to accept more passengers after the cap is lifted.

Ron Darling, a member of the Airport Working Group’s board of directors, is one of those concerned.

“With the building of the new terminal, the concern is that the airport will have the capacity to service substantially more than 10.8 million passengers,” Darling said. “Since the caps go away in 2015, they will have the legal right to do that, and we want to make sure the public understands that.”

Mainero said the terminal additions were under the original agreement and are needed for the current capacity. The airport was built to handle 8.4 million passengers, Mainero said. The new terminal would help alleviate backup at the current levels, Mainero said. He added John Wayne Airport has the most passengers per gate in the United States.

Ideas to deal with increasing demand are still being discussed. Moorlach pointed to surrounding areas as a means to deter traffic at John Wayne.

“Ontario [airport] is asking for more flights,” said Moorlach, who also pointed to Palmdale airport as an option. “We just have to figure out how to move people.