As the summer ends and tourists leave Orange County for home, those leaving through John Wayne Airport will encounter a liftoff procedure that just might make their stomach drop. The unpleasant move is done at the behest of Newport Beach residents and officials, who live in the path of airplanes departing from John Wayne and don't want their quality of life disrupted. Now, officials are lobbying federal air regulators to make planes take an even more convoluted path out of Orange County, all to protect Newport's precious ears. How does such a city have so much influence over OC's only airport?
KCRW
