May 16, 1983

In New York Day by Day on Saturday, the age of Judge Edward Weinfeld of United States District Court was given incorrectly. He is 82.

Noise restrictions scheduled to go into effect at New York metropolitan airports in July have set off a chain reaction in the charter industry that may result in higher air fares and may put financial pressure on charter tour operators and charter airlines. The restrictions, adopted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and scheduled to go into effect July 20, prohibit nearly all flights of the noisier Boeing 707 and DC-8 jets into metropolitan airports, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Guardia Airport and Newark International Airport. For years the mainstays of many charter tours have been the Boeing 707 and the DC-8. The aging planes were cheaper - the 707's cost only about $1 million each - and provided easier entry for charters into newly deregulated markets. Though outdated for most airlines, the aircraft are an ideal size for charters, carrying a little more than 180 passengers. The problem for the charter airlines and operators is that they have too many of the planes, whose engines make too much noise under the new rules.

Life was a good deal less confusing here when the firefighters basically fought fires. But lately the city's 216 firefighters - half of them paid city employees, half volunteers - have been busier battling one another in the bitter ouster of the volunteers. The Milford Board of Fire Commissioners in February abolished the six volunteer companies and stripped volunteers of any duties. For anyone still wanting to become a volunteer, the commission has ordered training - even for the current volunteers, who have been trained in past.

The Going Out Guide on Wednesday gave an incorrect minimum for the show at Michael's Pub. It is $10.

Leaders of 16 major universities and corporations called on President Reagan yesterday to put the full weight of the White House behind a new national program to restore the nation's ability to compete with other industrial nations. Such a restoration must become the country's ''central objective'' for the rest of the decade, the members of the task force of the Business-Higher Education Forum said in a letter to Mr. Reagan. Their letter accompanied a report urging changes in trade, taxation, investment and educational policies to solve ''deep-rooted and structural'' economic problems. ''Other nations,'' the report said, ''have recognized the new economic imperative and have integrated their domestic and foreign policies into aggressive, coordinated national strategies to meet the challenge of international competition. The United States has not.''