Visalia Airport Under Study: Coalition to Assess Smaller Airports for Additional Service

Feb. 23, 2006
Coalition members are working to connect the state's smaller airports to larger cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento. The effort is funded by a $245,000 assessment grant.

Feb. 22--VISALIA -- Support from business and political leaders is key to a plan to bring intrastate air service to some of California's small airports, including the Visalia Municipal Airport.

That was the message Airport Manager Mario Cifuentez brought to Visalia City Council members Tuesday during their work session.

Cifuentez presented council members with information on the California Regional Air Service Plan, a project under development by the California Airports Coalition to address the unmet air service needs of smaller communities.

The coalition represents 14 cities and airports, including the city-owned Visalia airport.

Other central San Joaquin Valley cities and airports involved in the project include Stockton, Modesto, Merced and the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater.

Coalition members are working to connect the state's smaller airports to larger cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento. The effort is funded by a $245,000 assessment grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Coalition members met in January to discuss a yearlong action plan that will determine which airports can support such service, Cifuentez said.

Organizers plan to hold several meetings during the next three to four months to find out about the demands and needs of each market, Cifuentez said. A report is expected by the end of the year, he said.

Anticipated service to selected areas would start by the end of 2007 or beginning of 2008, once money to support the service is secured, Cifuentez said.

Much of the assessment for airports will be driven by input from local business communities and political leaders at the state and local levels, Cifuentez said.

Visalia City Manager Steve Salomon cited the "political piece" of the plan as the area that needed more support across the state.

He said there are a "fairly good number" of Congress and Assembly members representing the 14 airports involved who could be valuable in moving the plan forward.

It's too early in the process to speculate on the Visalia airport's chances of receiving flights, Cifuentez said. But factors such as the airport's size and history of air service will help the city in the assessment process.

The addition of service by Scenic Air last year between Visalia and Las Vegas also shows the city can sustain such service, he said.

"We're a market that can support air travel to destinations," he said.

And it's logical to have a Central Valley location to hop to and from, up and down the state, he said.

"I think being central in the state provides us some benefit to provide travel," Cifuentez said.

All coalition communities will be considered, but it is likely some won't make the final cut.

Cifuentez said Visalia is in the project for the "long haul," even if the airport is eliminated as a potential site for service. Coalition members are working to improve intrastate travel regardless of whether their airports are selected, he said.

In other council items, Cifuentez and Visalia Fire Department officials presented a report on updated reporting and communication procedures for airport emergencies.

The report follows the crash of a small airplane Jan. 13 in which four people were killed. A witness reportedly notified fire authorities that he saw the plane go down, but it took nearly four hours before the wreckage was discovered.

The city hired a private detective to investigate the delayed response. City and fire staff are reviewing the investigator's report, submitted Feb. 9.

New signs are posted at the airport directing people to numbers they should call in cases of emergencies. New procedures also were [DROP3]put into place on how police and fire personnel should handle calls from citizens reporting emergencies, said Fire Chief George Sandoval.

New radio equipment allowing firefighters at the airport fire station to communicate with the Federal Aviation Administration's Approach Control in Fresno also was purchased. The equipment is expected to be in use by March 1.

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] (559) 622-2413.

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