Editorial:

This one was way overdue.

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa did the sensible thing recently when the two cities agreed to share the cost of fighting John Wayne Airport expansion and hold annual meetings to discuss airport issues.

Leaders for the two cities called the agreement “historic” and “monumental.”

Indeed it was.

For years, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa officials have opposed increases in the amount of passengers flying out of John Wayne, saying that the noise flights generate worsens residents’ quality of life.

Hundreds upon hundreds of residents can testify to the constant irritation — and interruption of their daily lives — of planes roaring overhead.

But Newport Beach has, historically, taken the lead in fighting John Wayne.

It was that city that negotiated the initial agreement with the airport that caps passengers at 10.8 million per year, and during the battle to establish an airport at El Toro — a proposal favored by both cities — Newport Beach spent about $2 million over a two-year period lobbying for the action.

“It’s time for the rest of us to step up and take a little bit of the financial responsibility off of Newport Beach,” Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder said.

The memorandum of understanding between the two cities also calls for Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to reach out to other “corridor cities,” such as Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange and Irvine, to get them to join the effort.

Most of all, the joint effort means that a united front will be presented to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the Federal Aviation Administration and other decision-making bodies. This adds up to more bargaining power.

And that’s exactly what the Newport-Mesa community needs in this tooth-and-nail fight over expansion at John Wayne Airport.