LAKE CHARLES, La., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Airports in Texas and Louisiana damaged by Hurricane Rita will receive federal help to make repairs so flights that are crucial to the local economy can begin soon, Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced today during a visit to inspect hurricane damage at the Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Beaumont and Louisiana's Lake Charles Regional Airport.

"Regional airports and the general aviation flights they support are absolutely vital to the economy of this area," Secretary Mineta said. "We are going to see that help is available to rebuild so these airports will play akey role in the region's recovery from Hurricane Rita."

Secretary Mineta announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has already begun assessing damage to radars, navigational aids, communications equipment and facilities. Once these assessments are completed, the Secretary committed to working quickly to make sure the facilities have federal supportfor making needed repairs.

Restoring general aviation flights is vital to the local economy because they help get engineers to oil rigs, connect business people to jobs and provide a base of operations for on-shore patrols of pipelines, Mineta noted. According to a recent study, the Southeast Texas Regional Airport contributes over 150 jobs and $14.7 million in revenue to the local economy every year while the Lake Charles Regional Airport is home to three separate helicopter operators that shuttle engineers to oil rigs to make sure they are structurally sound.

The two airports the Secretary visited today sustained significant damage as a result of Hurricane Rita. Flight restrictions were just lifted on Wednesday at Southeast Texas while Lake Charles remains closed to all but emergency flights, Mineta noted. Three other airports that handle only general aviation flights also were damaged by Hurricane Rita, including Lake Charles Chennault and New Orleans Lakefront in Louisiana and Stennis Airportin Hancock County, Mississippi.

The Secretary pledged to make sure local airports are able to play an essential role in the region's recovery from Hurricane Rita. "We will do ourpart and not waste time getting these airports the support they need to rebuild."

SOURCE U.S. Department of Transportation

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