Trailers help Nantucket Airport Cope with Expansion

Mar. 30 -- Don't worry, island hoppers.

The double-wide trailers that will be parked at Nantucket Memorial Airport this summer won't be permanent features of the landscape.

"We're moving some mobile homes in here for the summer to accommodate the increase in traffic," airport manager Alfred Peterson said yesterday.

With both Delta Air Lines and JetBlue adding routes to the island from New York this summer, the trailers could be a painful reminder of a $26 million expansion project that has yet to take off.

The expansion was approved by Nantucket town meeting in 2004 and borrowing was approved in 2005, but airport officials are waiting on support they say was promised by the state.

The project would add about 20,000 square feet to the existing 25,000-square-foot terminal, Peterson said.

"We really can't plan until the state releases the money," Peterson said.

Airport officials hope the state will come up with $12 million for the project.

But a report released Wednesday that predicts a possible $15 billion to $19 billion shortfall in state transportation funding over the next 20 years doesn't bode well for airport projects, which already receive a small fraction of the overall budget.

The state's budget for capital expenditures for the year could increase from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, but how that money is spent may depend on the new governor's priorities, said Rep. Eric Turkington, D-Falmouth, who represents Nantucket.

Any funds from the state would be added to $9 million from the Federal Aviation Administration and $5 million the airport will borrow.

Approximately $1.5 million has already been spent on design work, Peterson said.

Security improvements such as better baggage screening are the principal reason for the project, Peterson said. A waiting area with restrooms for passengers who have already been through security screenings also is needed.

"There's no doubt about it -- we're tight on space when it comes to security," said W. Scott LaForge, president of Island Airlines, a regional airline that flies eight nine-seat planes between Hyannis and Nantucket.

Currently, long security lines can block Island Airline's ticket counters, LaForge said.

Delta did not base its decision to fly to Nantucket on a possible terminal expansion, company spokesman Kent Landers said. The Atlanta-based airline said this week it will begin flying 50-seat jets to the island twice a day, starting June 14. The announcement comes about a month after JetBlue said it will add a seasonal route, using 100-seat Embraer 190s.

"In this case, we are confident that the space exists for us to operate this summer," Landers said.

The state is working with airport advocates, but there is no money dedicated to the project, said Jon Carlisle, spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation. Carlisle said he did not know whether the state promised money for the project.

Peterson is confident the state will recognize the airport's needs.

"We are the second busiest airport in Massachusetts," he said. "In 2006, we had 261,000 enplanements."

That figure includes only those passengers leaving the island on commercial flights.

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