LOS ALAMITOS — Some people love it, some not so much, but one thing is nearly certain: The increased presence of U.S. government aircraft at Long Beach Airport will be a reality for the near future.

In early 2009, years of wear-and-tear on the main airstrip at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base — a 1,400-acre complex used primarily for National Guard training and the handling of government aircraft — was largely closed to all heavy fixed-wing aircraft pending renovations.

With the strip closed, pilots of such aircraft as Lockheed's enormous C-5 and Boeing's massive C-17, and smaller but louder aircraft like the F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, began diverting to Long Beach Airport, which sits less than 10 miles northwest of the battered runway.

Other aircraft from Los Alamitos — the military's last remaining airfield in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area — have diverted to Orange County's John Wayne Airport and LAX, depending on pilot discretion.

Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, government takeoffs and landings at Long Beach increased by nearly 60 percent, from 447 in the same time period of 2008 to 702 this year.

In October alone, government planes generated 125 "operations" — which are defined as a takeoff or landing, according to airport records, up 115 percent from the same time frame in 2008.

While some of this traffic can be attributed to Boeing's C-17 plant adjacent to the

Heavy load at Los Al

The U.S. Government considers Los Alamitos Airfield "one of the most active Department of Defense aviation operations in the Continental United States," according to the department's Web site, citing its presence "in one of the most congested and heavily flown airspace(s) in the U.S."

And while Long Beach says it's happy to accommodate military jets and diplomatic flights — President Barack Obama's Air Force One landing in March attracted a huge crowd of onlookers — it also admits to working with military pilots to minimize noise impacts.

In a Nov. 19 memo to the Airport Advisory Commission, Noise Compliance Officer Mario Fabila told commissioners that the airport should be prepared to handle the diversion of flights from Los Alamitos for at least the next year or so.

"Recently, our office approached several military aviators in an attempt to understand their missions and request assistance in mitigating noise," Fabila noted. "Their response was overwhelmingly positive. They assured us that they would work with our office to keep the public informed on future operations and to implement best practices while at Long Beach Airport."

In October, the airport reported that 53 percent of noise complaints for the month were generated by "unknown" aircraft, compared with 24 percent linked directly to commercial airliners and 5 percent to helicopters.

None were attributed to military operations, but it's likely, though not entirely certain, that some of the "unknown" aircraft included the screaming F-16 and F-18s, which airport officials acknowledge often exceed acceptable noise levels, which they define as 65 decibels or below in designated flight paths.

Still, it's a problem they say they're willing to tolerate while Los Alamitos applies for the $1 million it needs to fix the damaged main runway, which they hope to complete within 18 months or so, said Sgt. Jon Guibord of the California National Guard.

"Los Alamitos is very important to the function and mission of the California National Guard, so it was deemed a priority to allocate these funds for the runway," Guibord said.

More will be needed

The work, however, is only a temporary renovation, and more funding will be needed in coming years to ensure the continued viability of Los Alamitos Airfield, he said.

"We're expecting for the fix to last upwards of five years," Guibord said.

Until then, Long Beach is likely stuck with increased military and government jets and airplanes, which can include United States Postal Service cargo planes, Coast Guard C-130 Hercules prop planes and Air Force C-5s.

"We're always willing to work with the government to accommodate military or diplomatic flights," said Sharon Diggs-Jackson, Long Beach Airport spokeswoman. "Their presence here goes back decades and has always been an important part of this (air)field, a presence which continues to this day with the C-17 (plant). Our goal is to reach out to pilots and ensure the impacts are minimized, and we've had a very positive response."

In fact, overall noise complaints are down this year, despite increased flights. And while the military and government have found a temporary home in Long Beach since Los Alamitos' partial airstrip closure, the bulk of noise complaints - and fines - are still generated by commercial flights.

Through the end of October, JetBlue, the airport's largest commercial customer, had reported 55 noise violations, generating the bulk of the $215,000 in fines collected by Long Beach for such violations.

Commercial jets are fined for such infractions as approaching too low or past normal business hours - fines that can exceed $3,000 per infraction.

In October alone, JetBlue flights arrived eight times past the designated business hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. All other violators recorded 17 after-hours or low-altitude violations that month.

Military and government aircraft, meanwhile, are exempt from noise fines, meaning they could feasibly fly in at anytime and not be fiscally penalized, unlike the commercial carriers.

Violations still counted

In this arena, because of federal exemptions, the airport's hands are tied, although the overall number of noise violations in direct flight paths, including from military flights, can be added to an annual list delivered to federal officials who dole out money for home insulation and other measures meant to decrease the audible impact of flights.

"We can't fine them directly, nor do we want to, but we can use those numbers to measure overall impacts of flights into Long Beach when it comes time for the federal government to distribute funds under the (Federal Aviation Administration's QuiterHome Program)," said Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez. "If there are any impacts, we can use them indirectly to minimize the effect on neighborhoods in those areas. So far, the impact (from military flights) has been minimal at most."

Meanwhile, at Los Alamitos, despite damage to the main runway, Army and National Guard authorities report that flights and helicopters continue arriving on the airfield's numerous smaller runways and landing pads.

"We have helicopters, smaller jets and larger aircraft like the C-130 (a large propeller airplane often used by the Coast Guard for search-and-rescue missions) landing at Los Al, so it's not like it's completely shut down," said First Lt. Patrick Bagley of the California Air National Guard. "As far as I understand, the damage is minor."

The diversion to Long Beach, they say, is based simply because of its proximity and the lack of other military landing strips in the region.

And that's just fine with some residents.

Long Beach resident Ralph Benson, who lives at the airport's south end near the arrival flight path, said the military jets can be loud, but that he feels a sense of patriotism from seeing the C-17s, which are produced in Long Beach.

"It just gives me a chill down my spine," Benson said. "I know that that represents about 5,000 jobs in Long Beach. I don't mind the C-17 taking off and landing every now and then."

kristopher.hanson@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1466