Under the settlement agreement between the airport and the community, John Wayne is allowed to serve 10.8 million passengers per year until the agreement expires in 2015.
Last year, the airport served about 10 million travelers. It could have served more, but the lack of parking and terminals kept that number down, according to airport officials.
“We probably wouldn’t go up to 10.8 million because we like to have some room, but I would definitely imagine that we would at least be up to 10.3 [million] by the end of 2011,” said Jenny Wedge, an airport spokeswoman. “The demand is there, so as soon as we have the facilities to provide for them, we will increase the passenger levels.”
County Supervisor John Moorlach said he is working with as many local groups as he can — including Stop Polluting Our Newport, Airfair and the Airport Working Group — to create a strategy for stopping the airport from drawing more than 10.8 million annual passengers.
“We need to do our best to present a unified front and renew the settlement agreement as it is,” Moorlach said, citing his commitment to finding alternatives to airport expansion such as ground transportation to other regional airports such as Ontario and Palmdale.
If Orange County can develop a workable plan for alleviating some of the demand for John Wayne Airport, then it can make a good argument for stopping growth, according to Moorlach.
Airlines will pressure the Federal Aviation Administration to expand John Wayne Airport’s flight offerings, Moorlach said, but if demand goes down, then expansion will be unnecessary.
He considers the planned construction important, though.
