From: Lenny Siegel, Director, Pacific Studies Center
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 01:07:32 -0700 (PDT)
SAN JOSE CONTINGENCY
The NASA draft environmental impact statement ignored an important contingency:
the eventual end to San Jose's curfew. I'm not advocating it, but it is
very likely that by 2010 San Jose will complete its master plan and move
toward 24-hour operations. That could impact Moffett's operations in two
ways:
1) If flights from San Jose are taking off to the north, the FAA may determine
that it's unsafe for planes to land at Moffett from the north. How many
flights would it take for that to become a serious consideration? Who would
have "dibs" on the airspace? Furthermore, what if San Francisco
also increases its night and early morning landings?
We're talking about the next 14 years, and NASA has made it clear that it
will not offer guarantees. As daytime and early evening time slots fill,
and as more air traffic crosses the Pacific, conditions may change dramatically.
2) If San Jose allows air cargo to land during the night and early morning,
will air cargo companies choose to use that airport? San Jose is reportedly
building a major air cargo terminal. Fedex is building a regional distribution
center nearby. What is NASA likely to do (or ask of the neighboring community)
to make up its deficit then?