Press Releases
The Derrick/News Herald3/16/2006
Venango Regional Wins Major Award
Facility Named Air Carrier Airport of the Year by FAA
Heavy duty elbow grease and a pile of money has paid off for the small Venango Regional Airport outside of Franklin. The local airport, beset by declining passenger rosters and deep federal subsidy cuts, has won a major award from the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport has been recognized as the Air Carrier Airport of the Year in a seven-state region that includes scores of large and small airports. The eastern division award was announced at the FAAs annual conference.
This is quite a surprise for us, said O.C. Bell, the airport manager. We were selected over a very large number of big airports. The honor is keyed into the airport runway rehabilitation work, a $2.5 million project that extended two runways and shifted one of them 300 feet to the south. That shift, explained Bell, was necessitated by magnetic variation, a natural and slow process in which compass readings change in relationship to a true northerly direction. Over the years, it changed enough that the airport had to repaint its runway numbers, change all airfield signs, revise all pilot publications and shift the actual runway tarmac. All of it was done with no interruption in services provided to the public, corporate customers, private hangar tenants and commercial air traffic. In addition, it was done on time and on budget.
Bell was presented a plaque in recognition of the honor at the Venango County commissioners meeting Wednesday. The presentation was made by G. David Parker, regional project manager for the Bureau of Aviation, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Parker, who nominated the local airport for the honor, said the Venango Regional Airport scored a major accomplishment in beating out all other airports in those seven states. I was so impressed with what they had done at the Venango Regional Airport, in a time that it is hard to survive in the current air service climate, Parker said. This is an important asset you have in this county. A lot of surrounding counties would love what you have but it will never occur in the current climate. Parker lauded the county for its perseverance in upgrading the local airport to enhance the capacity and security of the national air transportation system. This was no easy accomplishment as it was complicated by many issues such as topographical limitations, environmental complications, residential property acquisitions and proximity to a heavily traveled road, Parker said. The top award ought to have some influence when it comes to securing federal and other funding to keep the local airport functioning at a high level, Bell said.