Proposed Mandatory Curfew At Bob Hope Airport Narrowly Defeated
BURBANK (CBSLA.com) — Lawmakers in Washington have narrowly defeated a proposal to impose a mandatory curfew that would prohibit overnight flights at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
The House of Representatives voted 208-212 on the proposal by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who introduced similar legislation in 2011 that was defeated on a 178-243 vote.
Schiff told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO that while he was "disappointed" with the vote, he was encouraged to see growing support for a curfew among his colleagues.
Rep. Adam Schiff
"I hope it sends a message to the FAA that they need to work seriously with Bob Hope Airport and the residents in the area to try and mitigate their noise concern," Schiff said.
The airport - which has an informal, voluntary curfew with commercial airlines - generally prevents flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., but that policy does not apply to cargo flights or private planes.
FAA officials in 2009 rejected a blanket overnight curfew at Bob Hope Airport, claiming that it would "create an undue burden on commerce."
The proposal that was defeated late Tuesday night would have formalized the overnight curfew and applied to all flight operations. It would have only applied to Bob Hope Airport.
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