The plan, which received a favorable vote last week from the agency, calls for a shift in airport expansion from LAX to Orange County and neighboring areas. If Scenario Eight is implemented, passenger traffic in some Southland airports will skyrocket over the next 25 years, SCAG's Transportation Committee predicts.

According to the agency, Burbank traffic could double from 4.7 million passengers last year to 9.4 million in 2025. Ontario's passenger traffic could jump from 6.7 million travelers last year to a staggering 25.5 million in 2025. Meanwhile, if built, Orange County's pending El Toro airport could receive a hefty 25.1 million in passengers in 2025, predicts the committee. "These numbers aren't necessarily set in stone," says Jeff Lustgarten, a spokesperson for SCAG. "The transportation committee is looking at the entire Southern California region and what demand will be on it in 25 years." The predictions, however, have caused an uproar among opponents of airport expansion across the region. "You always have a lot of disputes when SCAG releases its numbers," says Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "Everyone realizes there is a need region wide, but nobody wants it in their backyard," Lustgarten says.

In the end, however, it may be a very unpredictable factor that has the final say-- the airline industry itself. "You're dealing with an airline industry that already has a lot of stations in California," says Kyser. "They (the airlines) are not going to open a station until they are sure they will generate business out of it."