As a result of data indicating that the airport has operated below its permitted noise levels, Long Beach is speaking to three of its existing carriers about increasing their itineraries from the California airport in 2020, according to a report in the Signal Tribune newspaper.
Adopted in 1995, the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Chapter 16.43, more commonly known as the Long Beach Noise Compatibility Ordinance, ensures that it is one of the strictest noise-controlled airports in the US. The order has balanced the airport's development and growth in operations with the legitimate environmental concerns of the local communities.
The maximum number of flights is determined by measured noise levels and the airport encourages its serving carriers to operate as quietly as possible by permitting increases in the number of flights, if, as a group, the airlines are below the noise budget. This is exactly what has happened between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019, with the noise budget analysis allowing for three additional slots to be awarded.
As such, the airport will be speaking to Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu), Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) and Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field), three carriers which are on its Supplemental Flight Slot Waiting List. They will each be offered one additional slot, which the airlines will be able to use next year.
Hawaiian currently offers a daily service from Honolulu into Long Beach; Delta provides multiple daily flights from Las Vegas Harry Reid and Salt Lake City; while Southwest flies direct services to Denver International, Las Vegas, Oakland International, San José, US, and Sacramento International.
