May 17, 2010
Ms. Lindsay Radford
News Director
KSTP-TV
3415 University Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55114
Dear Ms. Radford:
We at the National Business Aviation Association were disappointed in your recent story about the funding of general aviation airports. [Watch the video.] The segment minimizes the importance of small community airports and the value they bring to Minnesota, and the rest of the country.
The national network of small community airports represents the backbone of our nation’s aviation system – a network so critical that upkeep of a national system of airports has long been an established federal priority.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, used by the Federal Aviation Administration, points out that a nation-wide network of airports is essential to facilitate mail carriage, emergency evacuations (like those provided after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Midwest floods), and homeland security. These airports also serve a critical role in supporting flights for patient and organ transport to emergency centers, fire-fighting teams, and other services.
General aviation utilizes these airports, helping make them more economically viable to the communities they serve. Flights made to and from the airports by small and mid-sized businesses, schools, universities, and others generate jobs and local economic activity. This is especially the case for the many towns that are without robust airline service.
It’s unfortunate that your story overlooked these key facts, and failed to explain the many good reasons why investments in community airports provide a tremendous return to us all.
Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.