Looks To Expand Airport To Accommodate Growth

The city of Bend, OR is working at the request of the FAA to produce a new Airport Master Plan with an eye towards airport expansion.

The Bend Bulletin newspaper reports that the city is currently holding "listening sessions" with stakeholders with an eventual goal of winning AIP grants for big ticket items like a control tower, more hangars and a longer runway.

The expansion plans are the result of increased aviation activity at Bend Municipal Airport (KBDN), which airport manager Gary Judd is being driven largely by the shortage of professional pilots. Flight training is a major activity at KBDN.

Damon Runberg, Oregon Employment Department regional economist, told the paper that the airport supports 450 jobs, with more than 100 added in the past two years. It contributes $174 million annual to the economy of Central Oregon.

Like many airports, KDBN fell on some hard times during the 2008 recession, and Roger Lee, CEO of Economic Development for Central Oregon said while the recovery has been slow, it's been steady.

The city last updated its Airport Master Plan in 2013, which included a $22 million, 1,000-foot runway extension that was never built. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer told the paper that the agency normally looks for an updated plane every seven years, but that timeframe can be compressed if there is a lot of activity at a particular airport. In an email sent to the paper, Kenitzer said Bend "undertook the master plan update due, in part, because the airport had substantially completed its near term projects. In addition, the airport thought it needed a longer runway, and that would need to be evaluated via the master planning process.”

FMI: Source report