Airport to pause for show on July 4
City, SJC find solution to FAA’s objection to fireworks display: No takeoffs, landings for 30 minutes
When thousands of people pack Discovery Meadow on Wednesday for downtown San Jose’s Fourth of July fireworks, the rockets’ red glare will be the only thing they see overhead. That’s because there will be no takeoffs or landings at nearby Mineta San Jose International Airport for 30 minutes while the show is going on.
The extremely rare step of stopping takeoffs and landings at the busy airport turned out to be the best solution to an objection from the Federal Aviation Authority that threatened to cancel the popular holiday spectacle.
“In working with the FAA and our other partners, we all recognized the importance of ensuring this special event happens for our community,” airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said.
Closing SJC to air traffic is very unusual and would normally be done, Barnes said, for operational reasons like severe weather — which hardly ever happens in San Jose — or earthquakes. The last time was April 16, when both runways were closed for 15 minutes for inspection after a magnitude 4.9 quake near Alum Rock.
But on Independence Day, no takeoffs or landings will be allowed between 9:30 and 10 p.m., though the airport itself will remain open to travelers. The airport has already given commercial airlines and private pilots advance notice, Barnes said, and will be sending out an official “notice
to airmen.”
The decision came after months of work to make sure the holiday celebration would even happen. After six years without downtown fireworks, the Rotary Club of San Jose restarted the tradition in 2014 as a gift to the community. But while the free show has drawn tens of thousands of people every year, its future was never a lock.
In late November, the FAA sent an objection letter to Pyro Spectaculars, the company that produces the show at Discovery Meadow, which lies right under the flight path over downtown. The letter said any pyrotechnics launched from the area around the Children’s Discovery Museum “poses a significant safety risk for landing and departing aircraft.”
It’s not clear why the FAA lodged an objection after four years, but there are plenty of potential reasons, including increased air traffic at Mineta, one of the nation’s fastest-growing airports.
Ian Gregor, communications manager for the FAA’s Pacific Division, said the agency cannot stop a fireworks show from taking place. It can only object or make recommendations. But once the objection was filed, nobody wanted to go up against an FAA safety warning, so plans for the show were put on hold.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo put together an “all-hands” meeting of city staff members, airport officials and Rotary Club leadership to find a solution. Alternate locations, including some adjacent to downtown, were considered but ultimately rejected.
One of Discovery Meadow’s big benefits is its mass transit access. Thousands of people are moved in and out of the event on VTA’s light rail and bus system, which Rotary Club President Jay Ross said was a vital part of making the event work.
The decision eventually was made in the spring to hold takeoffs and landings for 30 minutes. Because the Rotary Club hadn’t been able to line up sponsors to pay for the event while the show was in limbo, Liccardo added to his budget a one-time $80,000 allocation from the city’s arts and culture grants, and a $40,000 contribution from the general parking fund to pay for the show. Ross, the Rotary president, said Liccardo has been a booster for the fireworks since they were brought back in 2014.
“He’s been committed to it, and this year he put the rubber to the road and exercised the right people to take the steps needed to make this happen,” said Ross, an attorney at the downtown law firm Hopkins & Carley. “Part of why we do this is to discourage illegal fireworks and promote fire safety, but it’s really a fantastic gift we can deliver for the community, an event that brings so many people together.”
Liccardo said he simply got “the right people in a room together” and credited airport director John Aitken, Deputy City Manager Kim Walesh and special events director Tammy Turnipseed for working with Rotary to do the heavy lifting. The City Council approved the money this month as part of the budget, and the expectation is that the fireworks will return for 2019.