Fri, Feb 20, 2004
Move Guarantees Airport's Status
Our good friends at AOPA tell ANN
that the State of New Jersey this week signed a deal to buy South
Jersey Regional Airport (VAY) in Lumberton. It's part of the
state's innovative plan to maintain what it calls the core aviation
requirements of the state.
"By purchasing development rights or outright buying airports,
Gov. James McGreevey and the state division of aeronautics is
taking concrete steps to ensure the state has adequate aviation
infrastructure," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Preserving,
protecting, and maintaining those airports is every bit as
important as maintaining the state's roads and harbors."
The current owners of South Jersey Regional had been trying
since the late 1980s to make the airport profitable. One of the
owners told a local newspaper that while the $8.2-million purchase
price won't cover all of the airport's losses, it does mean that
they won't have to "fight the bureaucracy" of the local township
and county. Most recently, public outcry forced cancellation of
plans to extend the 3,900-foot runway to 5,500 feet.
South Jersey is the second airport that the state has bought
outright. The aeronautics division has also engineered the purchase
of development rights at two others, meaning that while the owners
retain title to airport, they agree not to let the land be used for
any purpose other than as an airport. The state is negotiating with
several other private airport owners to buy development rights.
"It's a key part of what we call the
core airport system in New Jersey," Ted Matthews, executive
director of transportation services for New Jersey's Department of
Transportation told the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper. "[These
are] the airports we believe need to be in place to meet forecasted
demand over the next 20 years."
"This is a significant and very symbolic step that sends a
message nationwide, saying New Jersey values its aviation
resources," said Boyer. "It shows other states a way that they can
preserve and protect their airports as well.
"Preserving and protecting airports is at the very heart of
AOPA's mission, and we stand ready to assist New Jersey or any
other state in that effort."
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