Jun. 29--The owner of Harrisburg International Airport has purchased two other airports in two years and is considering another acquisition.
John Ward, chairman of the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority board, said plans to buy the Carlisle Airport in South Middleton Twp. are on the table.
Ward made the comment Wednesday after the authority agreed to buy the Gettysburg Airport and Travel Center in Adams County for $1.4 million.
The authority bought the Chambersburg Municipal Airport, which has been renamed the Franklin County Regional Airport, in June 2004 for $790,000. It has owned HIA and Capital City Airport in Fairview Twp. since 1998, when the state sold both.
The Federal Aviation Administration is paying 90 percent of the price for the 47-acre Gettysburg Airport, which had been owned by Clyde Bachert since 1998. The remaining 10 percent of the cost is to be split evenly between the authority and state.
The authority will consider paying the same percentage for the Carlisle Airport, "but we need funding for the rest," Ward said.
Being acquired by the authority would give the Carlisle Airport access to FAA money for improvements, said Jim Kingsborough, one of the Carlisle Airport's owners. But he said the airport is not actively pursuing a deal with the authority.
The Carlisle Airport is in the black and is "doing fine," Kingsborough said. "We're not sure what [the authority's] interest level is. We haven't talked to them for several months."
Ward said the Gettysburg Airport had been shut down for a while, was offered for sale twice -- most recently in 2005 -- and had not been used as an airport for some time. Bachert could not be reached for comment.
The authority has an interest in seeing small, regional airports flourish, Ward said. A regional system spreads out general aviation and leisure air traffic so all the traffic isn't concentrated at one airport, such as HIA.
The small airports contribute to economic development in the areas they serve and in the region, Ward added.
The Gettysburg-area business community welcomed news that the airport has been sold to the authority.
"It appears as if this will be a long-term situation that the airport will not close," said Peg Weaver, president of the Gettysburg-Adams County Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's another mode of transportation into a community that is in need of infrastructure."
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Web site, the Gettysburg Airport and Travel Center had an economic impact of $278,700 in 1999. No current data were provided.
Ward said Gettysburg Airport has a 3-year-old, 3,100-foot-long runway in good condition. He said the authority can run the airport without adding staff.
The authority will prepare a master plan for the airport, which Ward believes can at least break even.
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