COUNTY SUPERVISORS SEEK PASSENGER LIMIT AT LAX.

Byline: Lisa Faught Staff Writer

County supervisors are pushing to set a cap of 80 million passengers a year at Los Angeles International Airport in an effort to siphon air traffic to other nearby airports.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to lobby federal officials to set the cap if an alternative plan for handling the growing number of passengers is in place.

A coalition of nearly 100 cities is proposing a regional plan to send excess air traffic from LAX to airports in Palmdale and Ontario.

``What we're trying to do is reduce air congestion and street congestion,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said. ``It's to force decisive action now before there is a fatality in the air.''

The federal government bars setting a cap so airports can meet the needs of an increasing number of passengers, according to a report by Supervisor Don Knabe.

Under the proposed plan, a change in federal law would cap international airports in counties of more than 9 million residents at no more than 80 million annual passengers. The counties would require a regional plan to accommodate the air traffic.

``It is meant to spread out some of the traffic that is focused right now on LAX,'' said Kerjon Lee, press deputy for Supervisor Don Knabe. ``It would force airlines to offer service at other airports.''

The Los Angeles International Airport, built in the 1970s, was originally designed to handle 40 million passengers a year. More than 65 million passengers now travel through the airport annually.

LAX recently proposed a $12 billion plan to expand the airport to handle an estimated 90 million passengers a year, more than double the number it was designed for.