John Wayne Airport (affectionately known by travelers as SNA) today released its statistics for December 2017 air travel. Overall, airline passenger traffic, commercial aircraft operations, total aircraft operations and general aviation activity increased from year-ago figures. Southwest Airlines topped the December list for most popular airline, based on passenger count, shuttling 361,163 passengers to and from SNA.
John Wayne Airport has long been a source of both strife and satisfaction for the residents of Newport Beach. On a positive note, the airport is lauded for its efficiency and easy of travel. But high-volume traffic and the ensuing noise from planes over the idyllic coastal town can cause property values to dip. Last week, it was announced the city of Newport Beach and the FAA finally reached a tentative agreement about proposed flight paths.
At Tuesday night’s Newport Beach City Council Meeting, Councilman Scott Peotter said he’d like to look into “putting a permanent noise monitor say, by the Dunes, that would give us instant feedback [on noise levels].” He also added that the transponder data received from the technology could be used to either put “political pressure to airlines or [to ensure] that county noise meters are working properly.”
Here’s the full report from John Wayne Airport …
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in December 2017 as compared with December 2016. In December 2017, the Airport served 899,451 passengers, an increase of 3.3% when compared with the December 2016 passenger traffic count of 870,956.
Commercial aircraft operations increased 2.1% and commuter aircraft operations decreased 25.8% when compared with December 2016 levels.
Total aircraft operations increased in December 2017 as compared with the same month in 2016. In December 2017, there were 23,592 total aircraft operations (take-offs and landings), a 10.9% increase compared to 21,266 total aircraft operations in December 2016.
General aviation activity, which accounted for 66.8% of the total aircraft operations during December 2017, increased 16.3% when compared with December 2016.
The top three airlines in December 2017 based on passenger count were Southwest Airlines (361,163), United Airlines (140,317) and American Airlines (136,969).
