By JIM SCHUH
of The Gazette
The earthen berms stretching across the front and west side of the Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) terminal may be short-lived.
Airport Manager James Hansford and the Airport Board are looking at modifying the terminal entrances so that the berms become unnecessary. The 10-foot high berms, he says, were a "quick fix" and "significant overkill," but "got us by" emergency federal requirements to protect the airport, following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Hansford says cost estimates for changes to the front of the terminal are less than $200,000. They would include strengthening the entrances, and using stronger glass. He's hopeful that federal funding will cover most of the cost.
In reviewing airport operations for 2000, Hansford says the mild winter "saved our lives." In his words, "If we'd had a normal winter, we'd be bankrupt."
Toward the end of 2001, it appeared as if Portage and Marathon counties might have to use their own funds to cover higher-than-anticipated airport expenses, exacerbated by the terrorist attacks. But a return to more normal operations, along with mild weather may have forestalled the need for county funding. Hansford was working on final figures to present to the airport board this week.
Had the terrorist attacks not occurred, Hansford says, the airport would have had a much stronger year.
Despite the big drop-off in air travel since the events of Sept. 11, CWA finished 2001 showing a 2 percent increase in passenger numbers.
Hansford reports that 262,236 passengers passed through the facility last year - about 6,000 more than the previous year.
December alone showed a 6 percent gain over the same month a year earlier, as the airport accommodated more than 19,300 passengers.
Last year 7,602 passenger planes landed at CWA, an average of nearly 21 flights per day. The number would have been higher without the terrorist attacks. Still, landings rose by 3.5 percent over 2000.
United Express, which ties CWA to Chicago, had 25 percent more flights at Mosinee this past year. Hansford says in the prior year, Air Wisconsin - which operates as United Express - was at a standstill in contract negotiations with mechanics, resulting in poor reliability of aircraft. With the new contract, Hansford said, "They returned to where they ought to be."
Skyway, the Midwest Express subsidiary serving Milwaukee, had a 3 percent increase in flights. The major carrier serving CWA - Mesaba, flying as Northwest Airlink - reduced flights by 4 percent.
Flight cancellations for the year were up six percent to almost 400 - due in large measure to the events of Sept. 11.
Mesaba handled 64 percent of all passengers using the airport. United Express' share was nearly 25 percent, and Skyway had a 9 percent share. The more than 5,500 people using charter flights accounted for the remaining 2 percent.
Airfreight registered an 11 percent decline last year to 5,562,000 pounds. That was down from more than 6,222,000 pounds the prior year.
The number of vehicles parked at the airport overnight jumped by 10 percent last year to more than 133,000. The $3 per vehicle per night fee brought in close to $400,000. The overnight parking fee jumped to $5 a night on the first day of 2002.
Hansford says the airport is looking at eliminating parking meters in the lot farthest away from the terminal, in order to save money. He says daily revenues from that lot amount to only $12 to $14 per day, and that's less than the cost of meter maintenance and collection.