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Hutchinson airport reports growth, says winter storms exposed equipment gaps and closed runways
Summary
Airport Director Alex Stang told the council operations rose 11% year over year, new businesses and flight training activity expanded, and two recent snow events forced temporary runway closures and highlighted a need for more snow-removal equipment.
Alex Stang, Hutchinson Regional Airport director, briefed the City Council on Feb. 4 about a year of growth at the airport and operational challenges during two major snow events that closed runways for portions of the winter storms.
“Flight operations are up 11% over previous year,” Stang said, citing growth in training flights, local flight-club membership and business activity at the fixed-base operator Wells Aircraft. He noted new businesses, including Hummingbird Aviation, and projects on the horizon such as opening 45 acres for economic development, two FAA airfield pavement projects slated for late spring, a parking-lot reconstruction scheduled for summer and the airport’s Fly-In and Open House on May 3.
Stang also reviewed snow-removal operations after two significant events that occurred within a week of each other. He said the airport uses the FAA’s FICON reporting system to rate field conditions from 0 (closed) to 6 (best). “We did have a period of time where the runways were closed, and specifically because of dry snow or wet snow over ice is a condition 0,” Stang said, adding that condition lasted “probably for about 3 out of the 5 days that week.” He said drifting caused uneven accumulations—areas with a quarter inch and others with 8 to 10 inches—and that borrowed equipment proved inadequate for the worst conditions.
Stang compared Hutchinson’s experience to nearby airports, saying Newton was closed for several days and Wichita closed during initial ice events but has more equipment. He said by Thursday evening the airport had reopened runway 13/31 for public use.
Council members asked about chemical treatments for ice removal. Stang said commonly used products are captured and contained and require recovery or disposal; Hutchinson does not have a system to trap and remove run-off from chemical treatments.
No formal council action was requested. Stang said airport administration will pursue equipment and workforce development to improve snow responses and will continue with the planned projects and outreach.
