For the week of August 14 - 20, 2002

Threats can’t change airport geography

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Hailey’s Friedman Memorial Airport, once a hornets’ nest of local controversy over noise levels and safety, was back in the news last week.

The airport faced off with a part-time resident who threatened to land a Boeing Business Jet in defiance of airport weight restrictions. The jet exceeds the weight restriction by nearly nine tons.

Airport officials say that use of the airport by jets with more than 95,000 pounds gross takeoff weight will damage the runway, and could cause closures for the 60 to 90 days it takes for repair.

To make matters worse, the airport has no place to park a jet the size of the Boeing Business Jet. Setting it down in Hailey would force closure of the airport as long as it was there.

Airport closure would disrupt scheduled commercial airlines and other private traffic. It would seriously and unnecessarily disrupt local businesses and injure the local economy.

It’s no secret that the airport’s location in our narrow valley is not ideal. Once a sleepy rural strip that catered to small light aircraft, the airport is now one of the busiest airports in the state. The airport is busy not by design, but by default.

Threats won’t change the landscape and tantrums won’t change the airport’s inability to handle large aircraft. Challenges won’t change winter weather, which also hinders operations.

Blaine County once studied options for building an airport that could accommodate larger aircraft. Siting was difficult because it could have damaged agricultural areas and wildlife migration zones. Lava rock in some places would have made construction difficult.

The real shocker was a price tag that wilted support. After all was said and done, the existing airport in Twin Falls—a one-and-a-half-hour drive from the valley—looked like the best option for larger planes.

The distance is not unreasonable, but Sun Valley travelers refused to accept it. They voted with their tickets.

Thus, Friedman Airport became a compromise woven from many interests.

Airlines put up with the airport because passengers will buy tickets to get there. Passengers put up with small commercial jets and bad weather because they like convenience. Hailey residents put up with jet noise and safety concerns because they know the airport is important to the economy.

Uncomfortable and restrictive as they are, the compromises made at Friedman Airport work. They were compromises born of noisy political strife. Yet, pilots, passengers, and community residents have co-existed peacefully now for nearly 20 years.

Air service and the airport will change eventually. Better technology will help. Cooperative airlines and private operators will help. Public scrutiny and compromise will help. Stirring up the hornets’ nest by defying airport rules will not.

Last week, airport officials were right to stand fast on rules that clearly don’t satisfy everyone, but protect the welfare of the larger community.

 

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