SecTrans Announces Federal $$$ for Rita-Damaged Airports | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Fri, Sep 30, 2005

SecTrans Announces Federal $$$ for Rita-Damaged Airports

Airports in Texas and Louisiana damaged by Hurricane Rita will receive federal help to make repairs so flights that are crucial to the local economy can begin soon, Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced during a visit to inspect hurricane damage at the Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Beaumont and Louisiana’s Lake Charles Regional Airport.

“Regional airports and the general aviation flights they support are absolutely vital to the economy of this area,” Secretary Mineta said. “We are going to see that help is available to rebuild so these airports will play a key role in the region’s recovery from Hurricane Rita.”

Secretary Mineta announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has already begun assessing damage to radars, navigational aids, communications equipment and facilities. Once these assessments are completed, the Secretary committed to working quickly to make sure the facilities have federal support for making needed repairs.

Restoring general aviation flights is vital to the local economy because they help get engineers to oil rigs, connect business people to jobs and provide a base of operations for on-shore patrols of pipelines, Mineta noted. According to a recent study, the Southeast Texas Regional Airport contributes over 150 jobs and $14.7 million in revenue to the local economy every year while the Lake Charles Regional Airport is home to three separate helicopter operators that shuttle engineers to oil rigs to make sure they are structurally sound.

The two airports the Secretary visited today sustained significant damage as a result of Hurricane Rita. Flight restrictions were just lifted on Wednesday at Southeast Texas while Lake Charles remains closed to all but emergency flights, Mineta noted. Three other airports that handle only general aviation flights also were damaged by Hurricane Rita, including Lake Charles Chenault and New Orleans Lakefront in Louisiana and Stennis Airport in Hancock County, Mississippi.

The Secretary pledged to make sure local airports are able to play an essential role in the region’s recovery from Hurricane Rita. “We will do our part and not waste time getting these airports the support they need to rebuild.”

FMI: www.dot.gov

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23

Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]

ANN FAQ: Submit a News Story!

Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: One Man’s Vietnam

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.03.25)

Aero Linx: Colorado Pilots Association (CPA) Colorado Pilots Association was incorporated as a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation in 1972. It is a statewide organization with over 700 >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.03.25): High Speed Taxiway

High Speed Taxiway A long radius taxiway designed and provided with lighting or marking to define the path of aircraft, traveling at high speed (up to 60 knots), from the runway ce>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC