Schumer: FAA should approve federal funding to extend runway at Ogdensburg Airport

OGDENSBURG, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) wants the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve federal funding so the Ogdensburg International Airport (OGS) can extend its runway.

The facility needs a bigger runway so Allegiant Air (NASDAQ: ALGT) can land its planes when service begins in November 2016, Schumer’s office said in a news release issued this week.

Allegiant Air decided in 2014 to offer flights from Ogdensburg.

The FAA is considering the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority’s application for more than $14 million, Schumer’s office said. The funding would come through the FAA’s airport-improvement program.

The money would enable the Ogdensburg Airport to extend the runway 1,200 feet and begin Allegiant Air’s low-fare airline service, Schumer’s office said.

The runway-extension project would provide low-fare options for North Country residents and other economic-development benefits for the region, the senator contends.

“Just last year, I was able to announce that this much-needed, and long-awaited, runway extension at the Ogdensburg airport is cleared for takeoff by the FAA. Now, I am fighting for the federal funds it needs and deserves to make sure this project can be completed as soon as possible,” Schumer said in the release.

Schumer last November announced that the FAA had approved Ogdensburg’s request to extend the Ogdensburg Airport’s runway

The FAA’s decision, Schumer said, was a “major step forward” in the airport’s efforts to turn Ogdensburg into a “major regional air-travel hub” for residents of the North Country and Canada.

“The Ogdensburg International Airport expansion will undoubtedly result in job creation, increased tourism and an overall promotion of regional-transportation capabilities. FAA funding is the next step in ensuring these benefits come to fruition,” Wade Davis, OBPA executive director, stipulated in the Schumer news release.

The airport expansion includes a 1,200-foot extension of Runway 27; widening and extending a taxiway; improvements to the runway-approach lighting; relocating a section of Route 68 to accommodate the runway extension, according to Schumer’s office.

The airport also plans to expand the terminal and add a 478-space parking area, which will be funded through non-FAA sources.

A recent analysis indicates that the economic impact of OGS in 2017, post-runway expansion, will increase “significantly,” the Democrat said.

After the proposed expansion, the airport will support between 125 and 135 jobs, compared to 53 in 2010.

In addition, the total amount of direct and indirect economic activity that OGS produces could nearly double — from $7.4 million in 2010 to between $13.4 and 13.8 million in 2017.

The runway extension could also bring 38,000 new Canadian tourists and their resources into the region, Schumer contends.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com