Regional Airport Committee Seeks Ideas On Managing Growing Bay Area Airport Traffic

OAKLAND, CA — Bay Area officials are inviting input and ideas from the public on how to address current and future congestion at the region’s three major airports at a workshop on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter Auditorium, 101 8th Street in Oakland (across from the Lake Merritt BART Station).

Travelers to and from the Bay Area who use San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose International airports will face increasing flight delays unless local governments and airport officials take steps to ease congestion, according to a recently published Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) study. Of the Bay Area's three major commercial airports, two are projected to have significant runway capacity problems by 2025. Air traffic at Oakland International Airport will exceed runway capacity by 2015, while San Francisco International Airport will reach that milestone a decade later.

The Bay Area's Regional Airport System Plan is being updated by the Regional Airport Planning Committee (RAPC), a joint committee of members from the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. RAPC is seeking to develop consensus on a long-range aviation plan for the Bay Area that will ensure the mobility of airport travelers and protect the region's growing economy. During the first phase of the update, emerging aviation trends and technologies to improve airport operations were assessed. The findings of the assessment will be presented at the September 19th workshop. The FAA has provided a grant of $585,000 to support the second phase of the update, which will begin with the workshop. For further information on the workshop or the Regional Airport System Plan update log on to www.mtc.ca.gov/meetings/workshops/rapc.htm or call (415) 778-6757.