Airport Expansion Suffers Big Setback

LOS ANGELES-The influential Southern California Association of Governments has approved a transportation plan that would put sharp curbs on the proposed growth of Los Angeles International Airport, but a top official involved in the $12-billion proposal says the project will continue.

The Southern California Association of Governments, commonly known as SCAG, includes more than 40 elected officials from six Southland counties. By a 38-to-2 margin, it approved a plan that would limit airline-passenger trips at the nation’s third-busiest airport to 78 million a year.

LAX currently handles 67 million passengers annually, but demand is expected to rise to a staggering 167 million over the next 25 years. Before and after their vote to curb the LA airport’s expansion, several SCAG members said they hope to force more development at other Southland facilities, particularly Ontario Airport in the Inland Empire and a site proposed for a new airport at the closed El Toro Marine base in Orange County.