April 2006

Conflict over GA airports is one of those recurring issues that just won’t go away, but with real-estate markets around the country at record highs — pushing builders farther into urban outskirts, where the small airports are — and with more and more GA aircraft being built and sold and flown, the outlook is for more of the same, only worse. That forecast is coming true right now in Southern California, where officials in Bakersfield and Rialto recently moved to shut down their airports. In the 1930s, the Los Angeles basin had 56 active municipal airports and only nine remain, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. Further, Santa Monica may turn into an aviation environmental research center of sorts. But across the country in Florida one airport is buying homeowners out of their homes for more space.

Conflict over GA airports is one of those recurring issues that just won’t go away, but with real-estate markets around the country at record highs — pushing builders farther into urban outskirts, where the small airports are — and with more and more GA aircraft being built and sold and flown, the outlook is for more of the same, only worse. That forecast is coming true right now in Southern California, where officials in Bakersfield and Rialto recently moved to shut down their airports. In the 1930s, the Los Angeles basin had 56 active municipal airports and only nine remain, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. Further, Santa Monica may turn into an aviation environmental research center of sorts. But across the country in Florida one airport is buying homeowners out of their homes for more space.

While this is not a story about California Airports, it is an interesting study about the effects that 9/11 had on a group various smaller airports. Of interest is the finiancial amount associated with the loss of airline service to the communities which were included in the study. Take that idea one step further to include the impact of closing various General Aviation airports in California has had on the communities they reside in and the figure would no doubt be huge.

Want to know what really happpened behind the scenes to close Riato Airport? Go to this web site. It would appear that it’s all about…

While this is not a story about California Airports, it is an interesting study about the effects that 9/11 had on a group various smaller airports. Of interest is the finiancial amount associated with the loss of airline service to the communities which were included in the study. Take that idea one step further to include the impact of closing various General Aviation airports in California has had on the communities they reside in and the figure would no doubt be huge.