Salina’s new 4,300-foot runway is on a fast track to completion. The new runway, designed for general aviation aircraft, will relieve primary runway congestion and reduce delays for military, government, corporate, transient and flight training flights.

“The Salina Airport Authority received go-ahead from the FAA last month, authorized the contractor to begin work earlier this month, and we will be flying from 17R-35L before spring turns to summer,” said Tim Rogers, the airport’s Executive Director.

Rogers commented "George Hendon, manager of the FAA's Central Region Airport's Division and his staff are to be commended for their support for our parallel runway construction project.  In a mere 10 months, the Airport's Division staff reviewed and approved a revised Airport Layout Plan, completed an airspace review and conducted an environmental assessment with a finding of no significant impact."

Addition of the runway, financed by the Salina Airport through General Obligation Bonds, is in response to heavier air traffic at the airport and in anticipation of increasing future activity. The new runway will also provide enhanced safety for future flight operations. 

“Construction of the new parallel runway will not disrupt airport activity and access to the Airport's two Fixed Base Operators (FBOs), Flower Aviation and Midway Aviation,” Rogers said. That is important because these two FBOs set an airport record in 2002 pumping 4.7 million gallons of fuel as Salina continued to be the nation’s fuel stop for cross-country airplane traffic, Rogers added.

Salina Air Traffic Control Tower which provides air traffic control service for scheduled air carriers, air charter operators, corporate aircraft, general aviation aircraft and military/government flight operations, also set a modern day airport record with over 96,000 total operations in 2002.

The Salina Regional Airport is home to several aviation related businesses and organizations including, Aerospace Systems and Technologies, Inc., Raytheon Aircraft Company,  Salina Aircraft Sales, Flower Aviation, Midway Aviation,  Kansas Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility, Kansas Highway Patrol Aviation Detachment, Kansas State University-Salina College of Technology and Aviation, and the Kansas Wing Headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol. These aviation users are among those that comprise the more than 70 businesses employing more than 4,500 employees located at the Salina Regional Airport and Salina Airport Industrial Center and are integral components to the region's economy and the state's economic development efforts.  

FMI: www.salair.org