Johnstown airport leaders opposing two proposed FAA changes

Randy Griffith, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 18—The Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority has been pushing for a lot of changes, but at this week's meeting, the authority took action to oppose some pending changes.

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed decommissioning the airport's Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range tower, and Congress is considering a 5% local cost-share under the Essential Air Service program that subsidizes SkyWest's operation here.

Johnstown's airport authority is urging community members to oppose both actions.

The 5% fee would require local governments to support some of the cost of subsidizing local air service under the EAS program, Cree explained at Tuesday's meeting. But small communities would be stressed to come up with the funds, he added.

Five percent of SkyWest Airline's current EAS contract to serve the Johnstown airport is about $175,000 a year, for example.

The proposal is included in the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill.

In a letter to U.S. Reps. John Joyce, R-Blair, and Glenn Thompson, R-Centre, Cree wrote, "This type of mandate would be very detrimental to communities in the EAS program, such as Johnstown. I wanted to reach out and to encourage (Representative's name) to remove this mandate from the bill."

The VOR tower is an FAA housekeeping subject, Cree said.

The cone-shaped transmitters have been in use since the 1940s as a ground-based air navigational system. Most aircraft now use GPS systems, which are satellite-based, he said.

The FAA has been decommissioning the towers nationwide, but local leaders say technology is not dead yet.

"I think it's a great GPS backup," authority Chairman Rick McQuaide said. "It's a signal on the field. Years ago, it was the only signal."

In addition, the use of the VOR system is a required part of pilot training, Cree said.

"It is very important because our flight school can train here at the airport without going as far as West Virginia," he said.

The authority voted to have Cree inform the FAA the airport would like to keep the VOR tower on the Richland airfield's tarmac operating.