Airport advisory committee reports rising enplanements, infrastructure grants and runway improvements
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Summary
Airport Advisory Committee chair Gary Winslow updated the council on hangar leases, Contour Airlines performance and FAA grants for lighting; committee recommended operational changes for noise abatement and reported capital projects.
Gary Winslow, chair of the Show Low Airport Advisory Committee, briefed the council on airport operations, tenant leases, contingency insurance measures, airline enplanement trends and capital projects.
Winslow said the advisory committee reduced its regular meeting schedule from four to two meetings per year (April and October) with the option for special meetings. The committee recommended changes to commercial leases and deposit language after a tenant holdover damaged a hangar; Winslow said rent deposits and security deposits protect the airport from unpaid rent and damage costs.
On airline service, Winslow reported growth since Contour Airlines began service about a year earlier: monthly enplanements rose from about 684 at the start to more than 1,100 most recently, moving the airport closer to FAA entitlement thresholds that increase annual federal funding. "Contour providing triple the seats per flight... we can now get into those employment numbers that really increase our level of federal funding," Winslow said.
Winslow also described FAA and ADOT grants for airfield lighting projects including a Runway End Identification Light (REIL) and a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) to restore approach guidance. He said a crosswind-runway planning study and an environmental assessment consultant scope are approved and starting soon; two helicopter parking pads are scheduled for spring construction and airport paving and hangar projects are underway.
On noise abatement, Winslow said the airport manager updated the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) entry to recommend departures on Runway 25 with a right turn to avoid overflying the city; the committee cannot post signs with operational instructions because of FAA rules.
Committee members and staff highlighted the airport's recent FAA Part 139 certification inspection (passed) and an increase in FAA entitlement funding from $150,000 previously to about $300,000 this year under a sliding-scale formula tied to enplanements. Committee members said reaching 10,000 annual enplanements would trigger larger entitlements in future years. Winslow also noted zero cancellations reported this year for the current operator and praised Contour’s on-time performance.
No council action was required; the council thanked the committee for its work.
