Airport director praises response to winter weather

story by Aric Mitchell
[email protected]

With the recent spate of winter storms, the Fort Smith Regional Airport staff has been working overtime to keep flights coming and going, but not as much overtime as one might think, according to Airport Director John Parker.

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission, Parker revealed that staff was able to accommodate each scheduled plane during the snow and ice activities with only 59 hours of overtime in an effort that to date has cost an estimated $40,000. Parker estimated that winter weather commanded about 428 hours of actual manpower from airport staff.

Emphasizing the importance of winter weather response, Parker referred to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved Airport Certification Manual that requires at least 100 of the 150 feet of runway at Fort Smith Regional to be landing ready. “Some may look at the amount of flights we accommodated and think, ‘$40,000 for 20 planes: is that worth it?’ But if we couldn’t abide by the standards set forth (in the manual), we would have to close,” Parker said. “Staff did a great job staying ahead of the storms preparing and maintaining equipment.”

Parker also credits the work of Jon Fry of Morrison and Shipley (MSE) and Bob Pane of McGinty Electrical with having the new runway lights operational to meet the demands of the winter weather. As of Tuesday night the Airfield Electrical Project was 98% complete, Parker noted, with just a few more days and nights of work remaining.

In addition to these standouts, Parker commended the Farmers Cooperative with furnishing supplies to staff for the rigorous de-icing activities that consisted of laying out both prilled urea and sand in an effort to provide traction for various sites around the airport.

“They (the co-op) have been an excellent partner with us through this unique and challenging time of year,” Parker said.

Budget reports for the first month of the year came in with operating revenues at 7.2% compared to 7.5% from the same period in 2010. Overall revenues reflect just .7% compared to 5.1% in 2010. Meanwhile, operating expenses remained the same in January 2011 at 6.6% while overall expenses were 3% against 7.2% from last year.

In other items, Parker recognized Kathey Boze for her efforts with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) as the national group developed a guidebook for contracts to use at all airports nationwide. Boze sat on the panel alongside representatives from major metropolitan airports across the country and represented the interests of not just Fort Smith Regional, but other similarly-sized airports, Parker said.

Boze will also represent the airport at the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Airport Finance and Administration conference at the end of February. Other airport representatives will be attending the New Mexico-based FAA Spring Conference in March.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission will be held on March 22, where BKD will be presenting the results of their annual audit for 2010.