FRENCH VALLEY ---- Bringing commercial air travel to French Valley Airport
should be a top priority, say the mayors of Temecula and Murrieta, as it could
be a boon to tourism and economic development.
While the notion of
bringing a passenger service to Southwest County may be desired by city leaders,
county officials say it won't likely happen anytime soon.
French Valley Airport has been in operation for 16 years and approximately 105,000 takeoffs and landings take place there each year. In a meeting last week, the mayors of Temecula and Murrieta opened a discussion on expanding operations at the airport that now serves primarily private and corporate planes.
A single-engine plane takes off Monday afternoon from French Valley Airport.
Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington said that, as the population of Southwest
County continues to climb, the area may be primed for regional jet service to
connect passengers to major airports in Ontario, San Diego, Los Angeles, Salt
Lake City, Las Vegas or Phoenix.
"This could be a tool in our belt that
would serve economic development of the region," Washington said Monday. "There
are a lot more dollars in tourism available if we can take care of one of the
chief complaints we hear from visitors: It's difficult to get here.
"Not
only that, we hear concerns from our corporate community members, who have
trouble getting their people in and out of the area to conduct
business."
Murrieta Mayor Doug McAllister said the intent is not to build
an international, high volume airport in French Valley, but to create a new
route into the region that could help foster economic development of Murrieta.
He said the two cities could join forces to lobby for commercial service at the
airport.
"When we say 'commercial service,' we mean passenger service
---- not an air bus," McAllister said Monday. "This is a form of economic
development that continues beyond the building out of a city. A viable airport
is critical to keeping the 'twin cities' open to prospective businesses and
nurturing existing ones."
McAllister said the need for commercial flights
is compounded by congestion on Interstates 15 and 215.
"With our freeway
situation, even getting to Ontario can be iffy," he said. "Having this airport
in our backyard and not using it as a tool doesn't make sense."
The
airport, which is located just beyond the borders of the two cities, is operated
by the Riverside County Economic Development Agency.
Agency Deputy
Director Colby Cataldi said bringing commercial service to French Valley Airport
won't happen overnight. He said the airport would have to seek a different
Federal Aviation Administration license for passenger traffic and the airport
would have to comply with federal security guidelines, which would change the
nature of the airport.
In addition, he questioned if it would be
cost-effective to have small connection flights since the airport cannot support
larger, heavier commercial planes. The airport's runway can accommodate planes
up to the size of a Gulfstream II, a small corporate jet.
"Some people
might find it is not affordable," Cataldi said. "The smaller the jet, the fewer
the passengers, the higher the rates."
Washington, who worked in the
aviation industry for 30 years and is a retired captain for Delta Airlines, said
commercial service could begin slowly at French Valley with three or five
flights a week and those planes could operate relatively quietly. He compared
French Valley Airport to similarly sized facilities in Carlsbad and Santa
Barbara that have thrived with connection services.
And as for the
changes to the airport that would allow it to function as a commercial
operation, Washington suggested "better fencing, controlled entry and exit
points, and beefed up weight capacity of the runway. It can be
done."
Cataldi said there could be an opportunity for the county to
reassess the airport as the county Board of Supervisors decides whether to go
forward with a French Valley Airport Master Plan within the next month. The
master plan would help to determine if a second runway is needed, if an air
traffic control tower should be built and if commercial service can be
supported.
"The master plan will help us see what the airport is going to
look like in the future," Cataldi said.
There hasn't been an update to
the master plan since the airport was built and the update process would take up
to a year to complete, he said.
Cataldi said outside pressure exists from
residents who live near the airport to keep the services at French Valley
Airport from expanding, as there are already resident watchdog groups who
monitor the noise and traffic patterns from planes that use the
airport.
"Yes, we would anticipate resistance from nearby residents, and
it is already there," he said.
Washington said that, while airport talk
may be politically uncomfortable for some elected officials and their
constituents, there is no sense ignoring the airport's potential.
"I
understand there are certain perceptions that airports bring to mind, but there
are ways to make this work," Washington said. "It does us no good to ignore a
resource like this."