Cites Reductions In FAA Funding

A draft of the capital improvement plan for Tulsa, OK area airports indicates that more than $38 million will be cut from projects at Tulsa International Airport over the next four fiscal years. Projects at Jones Riverside Airport will be trimmed by a half-million dollars as well.

The Tulsa World newspaper reports that the cuts are the result of a reduction in FAA funding. The Tulsa Airport Authority and its financing trusts received the draft report at its November meeting.

Ten projects were cut at Tulsa International Airport, while four were pulled from the project list at Jones Riverside. The FAA had requested that the plans be submitted to the authority six months earlier than usual, according to airports director Jeff Mulder. They will go to the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission and tenants at both airports for comments before being considered for final approval next month.

The five-year plan still includes 15 projects totaling $86 million at Tulsa International, and four projects valued at $5.2 million at Jones Riverside, according to the report. Most of that money will be provided by the FAA in the form of AIP grants for projects the agency considers "essential", or from money available at the end of the fiscal year.

FMI: www.tulsaairports.com