Panama Photo Shoot

Construction of Florida's new Panama City-Bay County International Airport is four months ahead of schedule, says Roy Willett, senior project manager for project/construction manager Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR).

Runway and taxiway paving begins this week. Pictured: The 10,000-foot, north-south commercial runway facing south.

By the time the new facility opens on May 31, 2010, some six million yards of material will have been moved at the airport, Willett says.

Eight gallons of fuel is used daily during construction, which began in January, he says.

The 105,000-square feet terminal will be built according to the US Green Building Council’s standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Pictured: The passenger parking lot.

Pictured: Airport executive director Randy Curtis.

One is a lonely number

Runway construction will ground nearly all operations at Idaho Falls Regional Airport next month.

Only one of five carriers will continue service between September 2 and October 2. Horizon Air will maintain Boise flights using 37-seat Bombardier Q200s on a shorter runway while the 9,000 ft runway is rebuilt because of failing asphalt.

Loss of air service and related activities, such as car rentals and concessions, is expected to cost the airport $10,000 a day, director of aviation Len Nelson says. Actual construction is estimated at $9 million.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines/Skywest Airlines will bolster service at Pocatello Regional Airport to handle passengers from eastern Idaho.

Horizon will resume service to Seattle and Boise with 76-seat Bombardier Q400s on October 12; other carriers will resume Idaho Falls operations on October 2.

(Photo from Idaho Falls Regional Airport)

Smaller planes, bigger gains

Construction at Canada's Prince George Airport prompted WestJet to wet lease smaller aircraft.

The Canadian carrier normally flies 100-seat plus next generation Boeing 737 aircraft between Prince George and Vancouver. Because the main runway will be closed for centreline lighting installation next month, WestJet will fly 37- and 50-passenger seat Dash 8 aircraft from Hawkair Aviation.

Dash 8s will add about 20 minutes to the thrice daily flights, WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer tells me in an e-mail.

WestJet and others will use a 5,500 ft. (1,676 m) east-west runway during construction instead of the 7,400 ft. north-south runway.

Regional operator Air Canada Jazz also flies Dash 8s on Vancouver-bound flights. However, that airline will feel less of an impact because it flies regional jets and Dash 8s to the airport, Prince George Airport general manager Stieg Hoeg tells me.

Runway closure is part of the airport's plans to extend the north-south runway to 11,400 ft. in an attempt to diversify revenue by attracting cargo operators flying on crowded Asia-North America routes, Hoeg says.

For airlines flying from the Pearl River Delta to the southern USA, stopping at Prince George Airport offers some operating efficiency and fuel savings, Hoeg explains.

While no cargo carriers have signed on with the airport yet, a lot of airlines are looking for ways to cut fuel costs, he says.

In July, Canada's office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities approved the airport's participation in the international air cargo transshipment program.

The program enables the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to authorize foreign carriers to ship cargo through the airport to third countries, even if such rights are not provided for in Canada's bilateral air transport agreements.

New Caribbean Airport

St. Vincent and the Grenadines will replace its existing airport with a facility capable of accommodating international operations.

Existing E.T. Joshua airport can only accept short-range turboprop aircraft from neighbouring islands. Its runway is 4,700 feet.

Construction of the $217 million Argyle International airport will begin August 13. At present, only airfield design has been completed, a spokeswoman says in an e-mail. The terminal building, control tower and other facilities will be designed in the coming months, she adds.

The airport is expected to open on 375 acres on the eastern coast of St. Vincent by late 2011. The new airport is named for the coastal area on St. Vincent that it will occupy.

The new facility will have a 9,000-foot runway able to accommodate Boeing 747-400s, 737s, 767s, Airbus A300s and A320s and MD80 aircraft.

The existing airport will be converted for use by commercial properties and businesses.

Photo from Agency for Public Information (API) St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Detroit readies wrecking ball

Wayne County Airport Authority voted in favour yesterday of its Master Plan for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport, which includes the construction of a seventh runway.

If approved by the US FAA, the forthcoming runway will need around 1,000 acres outside the airport’s current boundary.

Understandably, some property owners aren't happy, but that hasn't stopped progress in the past.

The airport’s fifth parallel runway will run east of the airport and be used for arrivals.

The authority says in a statement it expects the new runway could be needed in the 2018-2027 timeframe.

I spy

While looking for a story to write, I came across a SFW Web cam for aviation nerds.

Spy on Edmonton International Airport. Its "Live Cam" is refreshed every two minutes.

Views of the Canadian airport include the north runway, south runway and south departures.

Caps be gone

Flight caps at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport will be removed after the airport’s newest runway opens in November. A post about the new runway is forthcoming.

Between 56 and 70 more arrivals will be added throughout the day-roughly four to five extra arrivals per hour-when the runway opens, FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell says in a statement.

Hourly domestic arrivals and departures at O’Hare were capped at 88 each between 7 am and 8 pm in 2004 as a temporary step to reduce congestion at the then most-delayed hub in the USA.

Originally scheduled to end in April 2005, the caps were continually extended while additional measures to address congestion and delays at the airport were considered.

There might be some headaches. Some airlines are unhappy with the news. And this just in: the cost of fuel is rising.

Runway on hold

Yesterday I wrote about the controversial seventh runway proposed for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

Wayne County Airport Authority has decided again to hold off on voting on its Master Plan to meet with local mayors about their concerns. The authority will take up the matter in its July 24 meeting.

Construction of the 10,000-foot outer runway requires the acquisition of a sizeable amount of property outside the airport’s current boundary.

Runway NIMBYism

Tensions are heating up over a proposed runway in the Detroit metro area.

Wayne County Airport Authority will vote tomorrow on the runway and the rest of its proposed Master Plan for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

The seventh runway is the most controversial element of the 20-year plan, which still needs US FAA approval.

Construction of the 10,000-foot outer runway, which will run east of the airport, requires the acquisition of a sizeable amount of property outside the airport’s current boundary.

Houses, schools and businesses in surrounding towns, including Romulus, may stand in the way of runway construction. Understandably, Romulus mayor Alan Lambert is upset.

On top of that, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that the airport overstated its need for the new runway.

The airport authority put together a FAQ in response to residents' concerns.

It will be interesting to see what happens at tomorrow's meeting. In the meantime, the moral of the story is never buy a house near an airport or near where you think there might be an airport someday. Or rent. Or move to the moon.