"Burbank airport budget going to upgrades"

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Airport budget going to upgrades
Improvements include renovating baggage claim area, hiring three new police
officers.
By Jackson Bell
The Burbank (CA) Leader


AIRPORT DISTRICT - A $53.3-million budget passed by the Bob Hope Airport's
governing body will go to massive upgrades meant to increase airport
efficiency and reduce wait times for travelers, officials said Tuesday.

The Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority voted 7-0 to pass the
2004-05 fiscal year budget, which will earmark $16.3 million for capital
improvements, including $4 million for renovating Terminal A's baggage claim
area and installing a $2.2-million baggage-inspection system. 

Commissioners Don Brown of Burbank and Chris Holden of Pasadena were absent
during the vote.

Plans to upgrade have been postponed for years since the authority was
working on building a new terminal on an adjacent parcel of land, Authority
President Charles Lombardo said. But when plans were postponed last year,
officials green-lighted the improvements.

"When you have something old and breaking down all the time, can you count
on it? No way," Lombardo said. "This will make [the airport] more reliable
and efficient - the way it's supposed to be."

Authority spokesman Victor Gill said the improvements should lessen waiting
time for travelers, especially during airport rush hours. Gill, however,
could not provide an estimate. 

"Right now, the peak [travel times] on the Southwest concourse is where most
of the passengers get crowded," he said. "This should alleviate that quite a
bit."

Airport authorities have also allocated $1.3 million for shuttle busses,
$2.2 million for new elevators and $369,000 to hire three police officers -
which raises its total force to 30, an amount the authority set after the
Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

In addition, $9.8 million will go to the neighborhood noise-abatement
program, which aims to quiet aircraft noise by installing insulation in
homes and other buildings surrounding the airport, Lombardo said, adding
that the 900th house was soundproofed within the past month.

Most of the airport's revenue comes from rentals, parking fees, charges to
passengers and grants from the Federal Aviation Administration, Gill said.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************