Under LB's Airport Noise Ordinance, the City Prosecutor may criminally prosecute an aircraft owner/operator if it lands/takes off without a reasonable basis to believe it can do so within the Airport's noise limits. The complaint cites alleges 16 violations of LB Municipal Code section 16.43.040 with Single Event Noise Exposure Levels (SENEL) above 79 decibels "with no reasonable belief" that the aircraft would would comply with that limit, thus allegedly violating LB Muni Code section 16.43.100. The complaint cites these dates and measured noise levels:

• August 14, 2018: 88.3 db
• August 16, 2018: 89.8 db
• August 23, 2018: 91.4 db
• August 24, 2018: 91.4 db
• Dec, 28, 2018: 90.6 db
• Jan. 1, 2019: 92.3 db
• May 4, 2018 [we suspect typo, 2019]: 91.9 db
• May 8, 2019: 92.5 db
• May 24, 2019: 92.6 db
• June 25, 2019: 92.4 db
• June 30, 2019: 91.6 db
• June 30, 2019: 87.7 db
• July 12, 2019: 90.1 db
• July 25, 2019: 91.3 db
• July 26, 2019: 90.9 db
• July 31, 2019: 81.2 db

The only active runway from 10:00 p.m to 7:00 a.m. is normally LGB's main diagonal runway 30/12 where take-offs and landings between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. are limited to 79 db SENEL. (Accordingly we presume the alleged violations occurred between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.)

City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said in an August 16 statement to LBREPORT.com:

I realize it is out of the ordinary for an airline to be criminally prosecuted for late flights, and only a few cities even have the ability to legally do this. A criminal case is only filed when it becomes apparent that an operator not going to take reasonable steps to avoid late night flights that violate the Airport Noise Ordinance.

The goal in a case like this is to get compliance with the law, and if filing a criminal complaint is the only way to accomplish this I will not hesitate to take that step.

People who live in Long Beach invested in their homes with the assumption that airlines will follow the law and operators who use the airport know that criminal prosecution will result when violations continue.

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American Airlines spokesman Curtiss Blessing stated in an email response to LBREPORT.com: "Flights to and from Long Beach Airport are operated by Mesa Airlines, under our American Eagle brand. We will review the lawsuit in coordination with Mesa."

LBREPORT.com sought comments Mesa Airlines; its response is pending.

In an August 15 courtesy email to the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Management and the City Attorney's office, City Prosecutor Haubert indicated the City Prosecutor's office had previously filed at least four criminal (misdemeanor) cases against airlines since 2002 (the most recent in 2015 against Kalitta (a charter operator.)

City Prosecutor Haubert's email indicated that prior to filing the case against Mesa Airlines, "Airport staff was in communication with American Eagle to inform them of Long Beach's ordinance and to encourage their compliance. Per Airport staff, in calendar year 2017 American Eagle had 9 flights that were in violation, and in the first half of 2018 American Eagle had 6 flights in violation. Although Airport staff continued to work with American Eagle in an effort to reduce the violations, there was not a consistent effort by American Eagle and violations continued."

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In 2003, under former City Prosecutor Tom Reeves, JetBlue agreed to a "consent decree" that avoided misdemeanor criminal prosecution by agreeing to pay civil sums (in excess of the noise ordinance's fines) to the non-profit LB Public Library Foundation ($3,000 for the first half dozen violations in a calendar quarter, $6,000 for those thereafter.) In August 2017, City Prosecutor Haubert and JetBlue agreed to update the consent decree to provide for $6,000 payments by JetBlue for all violations.

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A few months earlier in January 2017, the City Council voted 8-1 (Andrews dissenting) not to allow a JetBlue-sought federal customs facility at LB Airport (that would have effectively turned LGB into an international facility that couldn't be limited to JetBlue.)

In late 2017 and early 2018, JetBlue and LB city management clashed over fines for late-night-flights fines, escalating the matter to a scheduled June 2018 City Council appeal hearing. JetBlue argued that LB's ordinance exempts LB delays stemming from "system delays" (such as weather issues in the east or midwest that delay flights here.) JetBlue withdrew its appeal before the Council hearing and LBREPORT.com subsequently learned that the City Attorney's office and JetBlue had agreed to an agreement governing the way the City and JetBlue would handle future late night flights and fines for them.

In November 2018, the Council approved Airport management's implementation of new "use 'em or lose 'em" flight slot rules designed to prevent "slot-squatting." JetBlue opposed the new rules, but other carriers didn't. In April 2019, JetBlue gave 10 of its slots, which were ultimately allocated to Southwest and other carriers.

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