News Archive

AOPA presents evidence to GAO, opposes closing Chicago’s Meigs Field Airport

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has told the General Accounting Office it is opposed to closing Chicago’s downtown Meigs Field airport. During a July 25 Washington, D.C., meeting with GAO investigators, AOPA presented evidence demonstrating the national need to keep the airport operating.

Congressman Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), whose district includes Chicago, asked GAO to investigate Mayor Richard M. Daley’s plan to replace the airport with a $27 million park. Meigs Field, an official FAA “reliever airport,” has received special federal support to attract general aviation and corporate aircraft that otherwise would have to use nearby airline hubs.

“GAO is investigating the safety, economic, and noise impacts of closing Meigs Field,” said AOPA’s vice president for regional affairs, Bill Dunn. “They’re also looking at the contractual promises Chicago made when it accepted federal grants for the airport.”

Dunn, along with AOPA’s general counsel John S. Yodice, senior director of airports Jeff Gilley, and AOPA Legislative Action’s executive director Thomas B. Chapman, were the AOPA representatives meeting with investigators. The AOPA team presented GAO a complete briefing book and answered investigators’ questions.

AOPA told GAO that closing the reliever airport would transfer more than 54,000 annual flight operations to other area airports. That would affect the regional system, increasing delays and compromising safety at Chicago’s air carrier hubs.

Delays at O’Hare and Midway Airports already exceed 100,000 hours annually. Studies suggest that traffic diverted from Meigs Field could triple the average delay at Midway Airport. The General Accounting Office has indicated it will ask the FAA to study that impact on the Chicago-area air traffic control system.

AOPA also emphasized Meigs’ value to Chicago business and commerce. Some 88 percent of Meigs users arrive for business or convention-related reasons. Some 96 percent of business travelers at Meigs choose it for fast access to the downtown business district.

“Undoubtedly many attendees to the Democratic National Convention this August will use Meigs,” Dunn said. “For corporate aircraft, Meigs is by far the most convenient airport to the convention site.”

The economic contribution of Meigs Field to Chicago is estimated at $57 million annually. Some 1,500 jobs are directly attributable to the operation of Meigs Field.

“Mayor Daley is deciding in a vacuum to close Meigs, with no apparent consideration given to the safety, economic, or air traffic impacts,” said Dunn. “GAO’s impartial investigation will reveal what the loss of this airport could cost the nation.”

AOPA membership includes 46,000 pilots in Illinois and the surrounding five-state area.

Write to the mayor at: Mayor Richard M. Daley, City Hall, 121 North Lasalle St., Chicago, IL 60602.

96-3-008

July 30, 1996