Iowa airports receive $41 million in federal funds
8:15 AM
Posted: Monday, April 16, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Airport officials in Council Bluffs knew exactly what they needed if they wanted to attract more flights -- a new runway paid for by commercial airline passengers who may never use it.
With about $6.3 million in federal funds, the airport built a new 5,500-foot runway and parallel taxiway for the 91 aircraft based there and other incoming planes.
"We have more traffic and we were trying to accommodate corporate jets," said Danny F. Smith, executive director of the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport.
Some general aviation facilities, such as Council Bluffs, have been using federal dollars -- more than $7 billion nationally over the past decade -- to accommodate a growing number of private jets, according to a review of Federal Aviation Administration records by The Associated Press.
But it's taxpayers, not corporations, who are coming up with the cash.
Commercial airline passengers pay as many as six separate taxes and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion nationally over the past decade, the AP found. These costs finance Federal Aviation Administration operations, such as air traffic control and airport security. They also help fund smaller airports that serve private and corporate aircraft.
The main source of funding for small airports and airstrips is the Airport Improvement Program, which distributed $3.5 billion nationally in 2005, most of which was collected from commercial airline passengers. Airports used the money for improvements such as runways, lighting and fences, according to the FAA.
Congress is now considering new financing options before funding expires Sept. 30. The FAA wants to scrap many existing passenger taxes and replace them with higher fuel taxes and user fees, placing more of the burden on general aviation. Pilots' groups, business aviation organizations and small plane manufacturers are fighting to keep the subsidies intact.
"The core of this issue is the administration is trying to shift the burden from commercial to general aviation," said Michelle McEnany, director of the office of aviation at the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Eighty-eight percent of all flight activity in Iowa falls under general aviation, she said.
Higher fuel taxes and user fees for those traveling to the 30 most congested areas in the country would hit noncommercial aircraft the hardest, McEnany said.
Local airport managers say federal funding is key for upkeep and local business.
In Iowa, general aviation airports received almost $41 million in federal airport improvement funds between 2005 and 2006, according to FAA records.
The airports that received the most were in Council Bluffs, Fairfield, Atlantic and Red Oak.
By using about $1.3 million in federal funding, Red Oak Municipal Airport is extending an existing runway to 5,100 feet -- a project that helped attract Johnson Controls, Inc. to build a battery plant nearby. Parker Hannifin Corp., which has a hose assembly plant in the area, also frequently uses the airport, according to Howard Viner, airport manager.
"It's so critical for the economic development and well-being for places like Red Oak," which has a population of about 6,200, he said.
Atlantic Municipal Airport, which has 20 planes based on its grounds, is hoping to attract more businesses with a $4.3 million newly extended runway it opened in December. Officials said corporate users include MAHLE Engine Components USA, Inc. which makes bearings for airplanes, trucks and cars, as well as A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc., a general contractor.
Robert Lyons, airport manager of Fairfield Municipal Airport, said increased fuel taxes and user fees "would be devastating."
Lyons said his airport relied on $6.1 million in federal funding that comes from commercial passenger taxes and fees to build a 5,500-foot runway. Frequent fliers in Fairfield include those traveling to the Maharishi University of Management and The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa as well as customers going to Barker Company, Ltd. plants that make display and refrigeration cases in nearby Keosauqua and Centerville.
"Next year we're hoping to use the money for a new snow plow, which we need desperately," he said. "But without it we can't get it because the cost is so high."
On the Net: Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov/
Iowa Department of Transportation: http://www.dot.state.ia.us/
AP-CS-04-16-07 0131EDT
With about $6.3 million in federal funds, the airport built a new 5,500-foot runway and parallel taxiway for the 91 aircraft based there and other incoming planes.
"We have more traffic and we were trying to accommodate corporate jets," said Danny F. Smith, executive director of the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport.
Some general aviation facilities, such as Council Bluffs, have been using federal dollars -- more than $7 billion nationally over the past decade -- to accommodate a growing number of private jets, according to a review of Federal Aviation Administration records by The Associated Press.
But it's taxpayers, not corporations, who are coming up with the cash.
Commercial airline passengers pay as many as six separate taxes and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion nationally over the past decade, the AP found. These costs finance Federal Aviation Administration operations, such as air traffic control and airport security. They also help fund smaller airports that serve private and corporate aircraft.
The main source of funding for small airports and airstrips is the Airport Improvement Program, which distributed $3.5 billion nationally in 2005, most of which was collected from commercial airline passengers. Airports used the money for improvements such as runways, lighting and fences, according to the FAA.
Congress is now considering new financing options before funding expires Sept. 30. The FAA wants to scrap many existing passenger taxes and replace them with higher fuel taxes and user fees, placing more of the burden on general aviation. Pilots' groups, business aviation organizations and small plane manufacturers are fighting to keep the subsidies intact.
"The core of this issue is the administration is trying to shift the burden from commercial to general aviation," said Michelle McEnany, director of the office of aviation at the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Eighty-eight percent of all flight activity in Iowa falls under general aviation, she said.
Higher fuel taxes and user fees for those traveling to the 30 most congested areas in the country would hit noncommercial aircraft the hardest, McEnany said.
Local airport managers say federal funding is key for upkeep and local business.
In Iowa, general aviation airports received almost $41 million in federal airport improvement funds between 2005 and 2006, according to FAA records.
The airports that received the most were in Council Bluffs, Fairfield, Atlantic and Red Oak.
By using about $1.3 million in federal funding, Red Oak Municipal Airport is extending an existing runway to 5,100 feet -- a project that helped attract Johnson Controls, Inc. to build a battery plant nearby. Parker Hannifin Corp., which has a hose assembly plant in the area, also frequently uses the airport, according to Howard Viner, airport manager.
"It's so critical for the economic development and well-being for places like Red Oak," which has a population of about 6,200, he said.
Atlantic Municipal Airport, which has 20 planes based on its grounds, is hoping to attract more businesses with a $4.3 million newly extended runway it opened in December. Officials said corporate users include MAHLE Engine Components USA, Inc. which makes bearings for airplanes, trucks and cars, as well as A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc., a general contractor.
Robert Lyons, airport manager of Fairfield Municipal Airport, said increased fuel taxes and user fees "would be devastating."
Lyons said his airport relied on $6.1 million in federal funding that comes from commercial passenger taxes and fees to build a 5,500-foot runway. Frequent fliers in Fairfield include those traveling to the Maharishi University of Management and The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa as well as customers going to Barker Company, Ltd. plants that make display and refrigeration cases in nearby Keosauqua and Centerville.
"Next year we're hoping to use the money for a new snow plow, which we need desperately," he said. "But without it we can't get it because the cost is so high."
On the Net: Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov/
Iowa Department of Transportation: http://www.dot.state.ia.us/
AP-CS-04-16-07 0131EDT
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