Airport Board faces challenges in wake of Sept. 11

Despite the tragic events of Sept. 11, the Airport Board has made a conscious decision to move forward with expansion projects to meet the future demands of air travel. The best way we can serve the flying public and airport users is to continue our commitment to being the premiere airport in the region. We can do this by continuing to improve our runways, our terminal and air-service development efforts.

The Airport Board has several projects slated for 2002. In January we will solicit bids for the reconstruction of the primary north/south concrete runway. This will complement a runway project completed in 2001, namely lengthening the crosswind runway to 8,000 feet.

Another project to start in January is the design stage of the new Ozark Air-port. Two hundred and six acres have been acquired for this project, and 45 acres more are needed to make the project work. The Ozark Airport will be a general and corporate aviation airport with a 75-foot-wide, 5,000-foot-long runway with navigational aids.

It will eventually include aircraft storage units, a fueling station, and a fixed-base operator facility, all of which we hope to develop with private enterprise involvement. The Airport Board hopes to keep the airport functioning in Ozark un-til construction is started in 2002-2003.

Additional focus will be on mandated and anticipated changes in airport/airline security. Many security issues for airports and airlines in a "post 9/11" world have yet to be finalized. How they will affect our physical plant remains to be seen, but we will be prepared to comply with all security directives.

A big objective for us in the immediate future will be to reopen our short-term parking lot. The short-term lot has been closed since Sept. 11, as it is within 300 feet of the terminal and new restrictions do not allow unattended vehicles that close to the building.

We have begun the necessary technical evaluations that might make it possible for us to reopen the short-term lot and the rental car ready lot.

The board also will actively work with the Missouri Army National Guard to consider expanding their mission here at the airport. The National Guard currently has a large helicopter maintenance and repair facility on the airfield.

It is possible that they will expand their mission even further, which would be a tremendous asset both for the airport and for the community.

The environmental assessment for the new "T4" Midfield Terminal will go on as scheduled. Projections show that within the next decade, SGF will outgrow its current building.

Because we are "landlocked" at this location, we will have to build a new terminal in the middle of the airfield, not far from the air traffic control tower. Since it takes the better part of a decade to build new terminal facilities, the Airport Board has decided to commission the environmental assessment study, which is the first step to building new infrastructure. It will take approximately 12 months to complete the study.

Regarding the aviation industry as a whole, the United States probably won't see a marked recovery in the airline in-dustry until third quarter 2002, and even then it might not be as high as the airline industry-forecasted levels.

For a variety of reasons, many travelers are avoiding air travel right now. The good news is that right now, smaller hubs such as Springfield are feeling the pinch less than the major airports, and we ex-pect this trend to continue.

Air service as a whole is a subject near and dear to the heart of the Airport Board. 2001 was a good year for SGF: We saw the successful integration of TWA into American Airlines, and we enjoyed more flights and more jet service than ever before.

We will continue to work with our ex-isting carriers and new carriers to en-hance air service and bring more and more competition to the Springfield market.

We would like to see more eastern and western hub service, as well as address the "premium airfare" issue that all airports in smaller communities face.

These tasks have become more difficult with the current financial condition of the airlines, but all opportunities are being pursued.

The Springfield Branson Regional Air-port will continue to meet the aviation needs of southwest Missouri, and we look forward to meeting the challenges of 2002.

(Rob Hancik is director of aviation for the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport.)