For the week of March 27 - April 2, 2002

Airport gets $1 million in federal money

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By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer

The Hailey airport is one of five airports in Idaho selected to receive federal money to help pay for the added cost of security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast.

The Department of Transportation awarded $69,943 to the airport on March 18.

Airport manager Rick Baird said the money would help pay for the cost of off-duty police officers hired to search vehicles and patrol the terminal.

The airport struggled financially after Sept. 11, due to the cost of added security. With the help of the grant, Baird said, "we anticipate we’ll have a positive budget by the end of the year."

The airport is also slated to receive an additional $1 million in federal money to pay for safety improvements and update its master plan, which guides long-term airport projects.

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded the airport $820,000 of the total $1 million to add lighting, fencing, gates and automated fingerprinting equipment at the airfield. Commercial passengers will not be fingerprinted, Baird said.

The FAA awarded $180,000 of the total $1 million to pay for the removal of asphalt on the airport’s east side, Baird said. That is part of a project to remove all buildings from the airport’s east side, except for the control tower.

The FAA awards the airport about $1 million every year to fund ongoing projects, Baird said. The projects will probably never stop, he said.

 

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