Daley, Whelan, Lambert, and former Vice-Mayor Alvarado. What do these names have in common? They are some names on a growing list of mayors who not only oppose local airports — Meigs, Bader, Fall River, and Reid-Hillview, respectively — but are actively seeking their closure. This appears to be the new direction for the 1990s, with mayors increasing their control of city hall and misunderstanding the role of general aviation airports as the "aviation superhighway" to their communities. In many cases, elected city council members supportive of airports are preempted by mayoral authority. In other situations, a small handful of anti-airport people get the mayor's ear, subverting the public good.
AOPA understands that economic pressures against city and county governments continue to grow. Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds for GA reliever airports have been sliced in half during recent years — and fewer dollars may be available in the future. However, many mayors fail to understand how the loss of smaller airports will impact the local area transportation system or hub airport, not to mention the local economy.
It's ironic that Chicago's lakefront Merrill C. Meigs Field has been targeted by Mayor Richard Daley, and I personally find myself in a replay of a battle fought on a different front almost 20 years ago. In 1978 Mayor Jane Byrne proposed closing Meigs; and as the general manager of a local television station, I found myself on the Meigs ramp, editorializing to save this facility. Today Daley claims a need to turn this model downtown airport into a park, yet Chicago has more park acreage and park department employees than any other U.S. city.
Fortunately, it's difficult to use noise as an argument for closing Meigs, because its approaches are over water and removed from any populated areas. Those who have used that airport know how convenient it is to Chicago's thriving loop area and all downtown businesses, including many that use corporate aircraft. But other benefits prevail: airline commuter service from Springfield, the state capital; proximity to one of the best convention centers in the world; and many lifesaving benefits, including organ transplant flights. Mayor Daley announced plans to close this valuable asset in September without city council hearings, public input, or analysis of the impact the closure would have on operations at the other two Chicago airports, O'Hare and Midway.
Those who attended AOPA Expo '95 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, know the convenience of Bader Field, just five minutes from the famed boardwalk. Yet Mayor Jack Whelan, driven by city residents with a fear of "small airplanes," claims that the airport is unsafe, and he is pushing the city council for its closure. Meanwhile, the FAA refuses to take a position.
Bader is a prime example of an airport being allowed to die a slow death. For years, no improvements were made. With no FBO, no based aircraft, and no fuel available at the airport, proponents for closure cite reduced operations and a lack of local support. One ray of hope came as a result of our Expo last October, when the State of New Jersey spent $300,000 for improvements.
Fall River, Massachusetts, a small New England community on the Rhode Island border, has a GA airport supporting almost 50 based aircraft. But in the call for closure here, Mayor Ed Lambert doesn't cite the usual desire for airport real estate to be converted to a shopping center, subdivision, or even a park — he wants the land to expand the municipal landfill, better known as a dump. A dump provides the city with immediate cash, and the mayor is urging the city to take the dollars and close the airport without regard for the field's long-term benefit. Misinformation, lack of city transportation planning, and local politics may take their toll on this GA facility.
In San Jose, California, the lengthy battle to save Santa Clara County-owned Reid-Hillview Airport continues. Over the years, a series of mayors and other elected officials have attacked this once-thriving airport. Blanca Alvarado, the former San Jose vice mayor who is leading the charge, is now a county supervisor.
Located only five miles from the increasing airline activity at San Jose International, Reid-Hillview is an ideal reliever airport. As capacity-constrained International continues to grow, a home will have to be found for the many lightplanes based there. Reid-Hillview played a critical role in providing disaster relief during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. The alleged safety issue was dispelled by a 1993 Stanford Research Institute study that stated that any other use of the property would pose up to 2,000 times more risk to the local community.
Those vocal about closing airports often hide behind misperceptions of safety and noise. AOPA conducted a major survey of the non-pilot public early this year to determine their perception of general aviation. Some 46 percent of the respondents living within a 20-mile radius of a GA airport claim it to be a major benefit to the community. An additional one-third consider it a minor benefit. There was a surprisingly high awareness of the economic benefit that the local airport provides, and many cited the emergency medical uses of a GA facility. A recent Virginia Department of Transportation study indicates that $1 spent on an airport generates $1.52 worth of income in the local community.
AOPA's 11 regional representatives covering the United States work hard to spot early warnings of threats to GA airports. The reps participate in airport master planning, sit on noise study committees, and regularly attend meetings on aviation subjects at the state, regional, and local levels. It is important that all AOPA members help us in this effort. Become active in a local or state airport support group. The mayors who want to close airports know that besides opposition from AOPA, the world's largest aviation organization, there are local groups like the Friends of Meigs Field, Mid-Atlantic Aviation Coalition, Friends of Fall River Airport, and San Jose's Coalition for Responsible Airport Management and Policy.
Working together at the national and local levels, AOPA member pilots can make a difference by helping to keep municipalities, counties, airport authorities, and even mayors from closing the valuable resources that general aviation airports represent.
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