The Great Cargo Flight Hoax
    It's not about needing more cargo flights...
    It's about getting a foot in the door for a commercial airport.

It is an attempt to keep El Toro operating as an airfield, so as to avoid important legal and environmental protections for the public that come into play once the base shuts down.

Cox amendment bars joint use

Airport proponents use inflated economic claims

Cargo companies are cool towards El Toro - OC Register

Cargo flights bring night time noise

Cox Amendment

The National Defense Authorization Act, authored by Congressman Christopher Cox prohibits the joint military-civilian use of MCAS El Toro. County staff has been studying ways that this legislation can be bypassed. Attempts have also been made to amend the Act, by riders tacked onto other bills in Congress.

Commencing joint or “interim” use can allow civilian commercial flights to:

· Be exempt from Federal Noise Regulations under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990.
· Bypass portions of the National Environmental Policy Act
· Be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and legal challenges in state court.
· Evade some Environmental cleanup requirements.

Write to Congressman Cox and urge him to resist any effort to allow cargo flights before the base reuse studies are complete, the Department of Navy makes its final determination and the base is officially turned over to the county. Click here for e-mail to the Congressman:

Inflated economic claims

County public servants, including Supervisor Chuck Smith and CEO Jan Mittermeier have claimed that cargo flights can be an unbelievable $4.9 billion bonanza to the county. Mittermeier attributed this reckless statistic to Chapman Economist James Doti, but Doti wrote to the El Toro Website Editor denying that he or the University produced the figure.

Federal Express, a pro-airport organization, wrote the county with its estimate of the economic value of cargo operations at El Toro. FedEx’s estimate was one-one hundredth the size of the county’s claim.

A ton of product produces virtually the same economic value - manufacturing jobs and benefits - whether it is trucked to LAX, John Wayne, El Toro or the Port of Long Beach.

By law, any cargo freight charges paid to the airport can only be used by the airport, to pay its expenses, and do not find their way into the county for public services.

The idea that cargo operations are needed at El Toro is a hoax.

Cargo companies cool toward El Toro

REUSE: UPS is happy with its John Wayne Airport flight. FedEx has taken no position.

September 19, 1998

By MARY ANN MILBOURN The Orange County Register

At least one major air cargo carrier says it has no interest in flying out of an El Toro airport, and the others are taking a wait-and-see attitude.

A spokesman for United Parcel Service said Friday that the company is satisfied with its one flight a day out of John Wayne Airport to service Orange County.

"Orange County is taking such good care of us at John Wayne, it's not worth it to move to El Toro," said spokesman Bruce MacRae. "We're pushing now for our new $9 million gateway in Long Beach."

The county's El Toro Airport Advisory Commission began an effort last week to have air cargo at the closing El Toro Marine Corps Air Station begin as early as April, when most aviation units will be gone. The base closes July 3.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, an El Toro airport opponent, countered with a letter to the six major carriers warning them they would face community opposition.

UPS, which has a major operation at Ontario International Airport and a new facility going in at Long Beach Airport, always has said the one John Wayne flight serves its needs here.

Orange County officials assumed UPS would want to move to El Toro with Federal Express, which also has one daily flight at John Wayne.

Federal Express has expressed interest in El Toro, but spokesman Jess Bunn said Friday that the company has taken no position in the latest round.

DHL Worldwide is always looking at potential sites, but El Toro is not one, said spokeswoman Wendy Schmidgall.

"It's not likely that we would have operations that are not close to the main business centers," she said.

Rocco Sacci, spokesman for Emery Worldwide, said the company is satisfied with its operations at Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario.

"(An airport) has to be there before we can make any kind of decision," he said about El Toro.

Industry opposes restrictions on night time noise

The Air Transport Association has stated that “Any significant noise constraints will render El Toro undesirable for cargo operations.” Click for ATA letters.

Click for more about FedEx and El Toro.