Alternate States: For & Against Their Airports

The politician is an amazing form of life, a shining example that the only reliable human constant is inconsistency–especially when it comes to aviation, specifically smaller airplanes and their airports. Some, like those from Nebraska, get it, and others, like those in Ohio, do not (or they’ve never taken the time to learn).

In Ohio’s general revenue budget the House gave small airports (like Dayton’s Wright Brothers Airport) $1.2 million a year for improvements and inspections. The Senate cut these funds to help make up a roughly billion dollar shortfall. The Springfield News-Sun article didn’t say what else the Senate would cut to make up the remaining $997.6 million. The senate did leave a few bucks in the rail and transit budget, and the Ohio DOT is going to see if it can transfer some of that to the airports.

Measured by a story in Sidney Sun Telegraph, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson gets it. He just introduced the Small Airport Relief Act of 2009. If passed, it would ensure current federal funding levels for rural airports to help them remain stable during the economic downturn. As quoted in the article:

“Rural airports are an economic engine for the communities they serve,” said Sen. Nelson. “This legislation will keep Nebraska’s rural airports upgraded, modern and safe. Rural airports are counting on these funds. These tough times are, hopefully, temporary and rural airports shouldn’t be penalized by losing funds they need for runway work, security upgrades or other improvements to remain modern and up-to-date.”

This is not the first time Senator Nelson has gone to bat for small airports. After 9/11, the article said, he introduced a successful bill that maintained AIP levels in the face of dropping passenger counts, and he co-sponsored legislation to repeal a program that would have resulted in a 10 percent reduction in funding to certain rural airports.

And then there are the pols in D.C., who gleefully bash corporate execs and business aviation at every opportunity. In light of a recent ABC News report that tallied the taxpayer money congressmen spent flying the military versions of the same business jets, it seems these elected officials have made an art form of “Do as I say, not as I do.”

In the end, we really don’t have any one to blame but ourselves, because we (collectively speaking) elected them. —Scott Spangler