Airport enhancement and modernization is critical

By Gregg Foster, RREDC Executive Director

Published by the Times-Standard January 18, 2004 -

Recently, much has been written about the draft Arcata-Eureka Airport Master Plan. This plan, released last September, provides recommendations on expansion and enhancement of the airport facilities to meet the future air transport needs for both passengers and cargo.

While the draft plan contains many recommendations for a 20-year capital improvement plan, the most publicized and controversial recommendation is for an 800-foot expansion of the runway to accommodate regional jets. If implemented, this recommendation would require the dislocation of some homes and businesses and the realignment of Central Avenue to accommodate the longer runway and buffer zone.

Of course, those directly affected by this recommendation are very concerned, as are others who worry about the impact of increased airport activity on their quality of life. Many divergent opinions have been expressed, from the expansion of the airport is critical to the economic future of Humboldt County, to the airport is nothing but a toy for the elite of Humboldt County.

The airport is more than a nice amenity for a small number of elite; it is critical to the success of many Humboldt County businesses, institutions and organizations.

In 2001, there were an estimated 34,000 aircraft operations at the airport. Skywest (United Express) and Horizon Airlines currently offer 16 flights per day to Redding, Sacramento, San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

This equates to an annual estimate of 12,000 take-offs and landings. In 2002, planes at our airport were boarded by 101,000 persons. Air cargo increased from 108,951 pounds in 1994 to 318,171 pounds in 2000. It is estimated that by 2022, air cargo will increase to 400,000 pounds.

According to the County of Humboldt Economic Development Division, all nine of our local base industry clusters put a high priority on reducing the cost of moving goods, people and information in and out of Humboldt County. Eight of those nine base industry cluster workplans listed expansion of the airport to accommodate more cargo service and greater diversity of flight routes as a top priority.

There will be an increasing demand for airport services. According to the Federal Aviation Administration 2003-2014 Aerospace Forecasts, total scheduled U.S. passenger traffic will increase from 646.9 million emplanements (people getting on planes) in 2003 to 996.2 million in 2014. Regional and commuter airports will experience an increase of emplanements from approximately 97.1 million in 2003 to 174.1 million in 2014.

Regional airlines will be flying larger planes and regional jets will dominate the fleet. The FAA predicts that the number of regional and commuter planes with fewer than 30 seats will decrease from 917 in 2003 to 777 in 2014. During that period, the number of planes holding more than 30 passengers will increase from 1,787 to 3,257. Total fleet size will increase from 2,704 planes in 2003 to 4,034 in 2014.

During this period, the number of turboprop planes, like those that fly out of our airport, will decrease from 1,415 to 1,144. Regional jets in use will increase from 1,289 to 2,890. Significantly, the FAA predicts that by 2014, jets will make up 89 percent of the fleet of planes carrying more than 30 passengers.

These facts make it clear that the modernization of facilities is critical for our airport to continue to provide the level of service required to meet the needs of the industry and our local community. Despite some of the more hysteric assertions we've heard, our little regional facility will never evolve into a Los Angeles International Airport, which is larger than 3,400 acres and handled more than 56 million passengers in 2002. There will be neither the demand, nor surface transportation modes necessary to accommodate an airport approaching that size.

The issue shouldn't be whether or not we modernize, but how. If we don't meet the demands of the modernizing regional air fleet, then we could lose commercial air service, which has already happened in Santa Rosa. This loss would cause serious injury to our local economy and further isolate our region from the rest of the world.