Dec. 04--Local governments owning airports get a big funding boost if the airports offer commercial flights.
The federal government requires airlines to pay a passenger facility charge wherever a person boards a plane. The money is intended for capital improvements.
Southeast Iowa Regional Airport Director Mary Beaird told Des Moines County supervisors Tuesday the airport receives about $4.40 for each passenger boarding a commercial flight.
During her presentation on the airport's five-year plan, due yearly Dec. 1 to the FAA, Beaird said the fee generates enough money to cover local government matches for FAA grants until 2017.
The grants pay 90 percent for runway, apron, plane parking or improvements, she said.
Beaird anticipates the main runway will need replacing in 2018, a project estimated to cost $9.5 million, making the local match about $1 million.
Beaird brought the match to supervisors' attention so they can start budgeting for the expense, since the passenger facility charges collected in the coming years likely will not cover the match.
Burlington, West Burlington and Des Moines County own the airport as part of an airport authority and governing board. Before the authority was established in 1996, Burlington was the sole owner of the 70-year-old airport.
Burlington contributes the most, giving between 21 cents and 27 cents per $1,000 property tax value to fund the airport, which averages about $160,000 annually. West Burlington and Des Moines County pay the same flat annual fee -- about $22,000 a year.
When the authority was formed, adding other government members was intended, since the facility is used by more than Burlington residents.
"But it hasn't been discussed in years," Beaird said.
Fort Madison, Keokuk and Mount Pleasant have airports, she said, though none of them have a commercial airline. Only seven of the 114 airports in Iowa offer commercial airline service.
Air Choice One averages about 7,000 passengers annually at Southeast Iowa Regional Airport and pays about $30,800 per year in passenger facility charges, Beaird said.
The airline offers daily flights to St. Louis and Chicago.
Beaird said Air Choice One contracted with Pacific Wings to handle bookings and baggage, but canceled the contract after eight months in June, which slightly decreased passenger numbers. She said luggage now must be collected and rechecked at St. Louis and Chicago.
Air Choice One has increased its marketing efforts, however, targeting engineers working at the new fertilizer plant, for example, and users who bought two tickets before -- one from Burlington and another from their connection in Chicago or St. Louis -- are getting used to doing so again, she said.
Beaird said 54 area companies use the airport.
The engineering firm that drew up the five-year plan, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, estimated the FAA will require a major upgrade, if not a total replacement, to the runway in 2018. In 2017, about $55,000 will be spent for an engineering study to determine the extent of upgrades. The runway was given an overlay about eight years ago, she said.
As configured, the main runway can handle 60,000-pound single axle jets or 90,000-pound double axle jets, which carry about 30 or 35 passengers, said Beaird.
County supervisors thanked Beaird for apprising them of the $1 million local match early.
Copyright 2013 - The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa
