Pennsylvania Airport Has Seen Some Recent Rough Times

New investment is being made by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority in Braden Airpark (N43), one of three airports controlled by the authority.

The airport has fallen into disrepair after austerity measures were imposed in 2011 when a judge gave the authority a four-year deadline to pay off a $16 million debt. The Morning Call newspaper reports that at the time, the authority considered selling Braden to help balance its books.

Meanwhile, Moyer Aviation, which had a lease to run the airport for more than 10 years, left the airport after the authority would not give it a long-term lease. With no services to speak of at the airport, the number of planes based there fell from about 60 to about 30, where it remains today.

Pilots who kept their airplanes at Braden told the paper that it often felt abandoned. Hangars leaked, the authority condemned the terminal building, and it seemed to take years for simple maintenance such as replacing a windsock.

Now, after years of very lean budgets, the authority is in much better financial health. It has rehired some of the staff that was laid off, and beginning to work on some much-needed projects. Those include making upgrades at Braden.

The Morning Call reports that the authority is actively working to attract new business to the airport, has demolished dilapidated buildings and beginning new construction. They are targeting flight schools, maintenance shops, flying clubs and skydiving businesses with their marketing efforts.

FMI: Original report