"Small Iowa airports receive $41 million in federal funds"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, April 16, 2007 

Small Iowa airports receive $41 million in federal funds   
The Associated Press


DES MOINES (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.''

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