Can Smaller Airports Take Flight After COVID?

May 10—MORIARTY — It's no secret that the pandemic has been hard on commercial aviation. While passenger traffic has ticked up slightly in recent months at the Albuquerque International Sunport and other airports, numbers have stayed well below normal since last March.

But what about smaller airports, like Moriarty Municipal Airport in the East Mountains? On the one hand, an uptick in demand for personal planes, and the freedom they bring, has meant more business for smaller general aviation airports recently. But on the other hand, more traffic means needing to add more infrastructure to keep up with demand.

"These airports are here; this is your economic engine," said Ryan Waguespack, senior vice president with the National Air Transportation Association, during a tour stop in Moriarty on Tuesday.

The stop in Moriarty was part of NATA's General Aviation Advancing America tour, designed to highlight the general aviation industry, which includes all civilian flying except scheduled passenger airline service. Waguespack spoke and fielded questions and comments from East Mountain business leaders on the state of the aviation industry and the role the airport, now the state's third-busiest, plays in the community.

"It's beautiful when you walk into a room and everybody gets it," he said.

Waguespack noted that the entire aviation industry "came to a grinding stop" last March, as travel restrictions and fear about the virus kept people out of the air.

By July, however, Waguespack said the general aviation industry had exploded. As more people began to work remotely, they realized they didn't need to live in crowded cities if they didn't want to.

"People are living where they want to live," Waguespack said.

One less-reported side effect was that some of those people bought planes to explore remote locations. Consequently, Waguespack said the number of planes on the market is incredibly low as demand soars. And many of those new pilots are seeking out smaller, rural airports and communities.

"When I say there's no inventory, truly, there's no inventory," Waguespack said.

In Moriarty, the city's unique wind patterns have made it a popular spot for gliders, fixed-wing aircraft that don't require engines to fly. Bob Hudson, Moriarty's airport manager, said this success helped the airport stay busy during the worst of the pandemic.

"We have people from all over the world who come here," Hudson said. "In June, we'll be very, very busy."

But with the popularity with glider pilots and expected growth of the East Mountains region comes the need to improve infrastructure to keep up with demand. The Journal recently reported that the airport is receiving $289,000 in state funding to improve and expand its waterline, but Hudson added that the cost to build new hangers has skyrocketed, thanks in part to supply chain disruptions for lumber and other supplies.

"Nobody wants to build a $250,000 box to put their $40,000 airplane in," Hudson said.

Moreover, Waguespack pointed to sea changes in the industry that threaten to disrupt everyone from Boeing to small companies. Waguespack said the industry faces a long-term shortage of pilots, noting that it's expensive to get a license and gain enough experience to fly professionally. In a study from industry consulting firm Oliver Wyman, the firm predicted that between 25,000 and 35,000 current and future pilots may choose alternative career paths over the next decade following the pandemic.

Even as the industry moves toward more automated aircraft, Waguespack said he thinks there will still be a need for well-trained pilots for years to come.

"These machines cost money, and the talent costs money," he said. "And I'm afraid this next ripple is going to be very hard."

Stephen Hamway covers economic development, health care and tourism for the Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

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