JetBlue has withdrawn its threat to appeal a series of fines imposed by Long Beach Airport over noise and curfew violations.
The airline has struck a deal with the Long Beach city prosecutor’s office to pay up even though it maintained many of the violations were caused by air traffic issues elsewhere.
This caused JetBlue flights to be delayed en route to the airport after 11pm, which is when curfew violations kick in.
The airline said at least 16 of the 58 violations were out of its control due to ‘explicit air traffic control direction.’
JetBlue will pay its fines and the airport will now accept letters from the FAA as mitigating circumstances for specific delays which the airline has no control over.
It will still be liable to pay for any violations caused by maintenance or non-air traffic control issues.
JetBlue said it will ‘make all efforts to immediately and significantly curtail late night operational disruptions at Long Beach.’
It also reserves the right to file future appeals against new fines under the agreement as well as challenging the airport’s proposal to change slot allocation rules.
Long Beach is proposing a new ‘use it or lose it’ clause.
JetBlue is the major carrier at the airport but does not utilize all available clots it has access to.
