- By Dan Veaner
- News
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The Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport runway officially reopened when local businessman Larry Baum landed his Aerostar 601P/600P twin engine aircraft around noon Saturday. Baum was greeted at Taughannock Aviation by County and airport officials and well-wishers. Commercial flights began on schedule Monday morning and a ribbon cutting in the terminal kicked off 'Client Appreciation Week', when airport and county officials gathered along with project stakeholders."This is a great day in Tompkins County," said Tompkins County Legislature Chair Michael Lane. "It's nice when we have a major project like this and it's even nicer when it's gone as well as this project. This was important to us. How can we say anything but thank you? We're glad to have our airport back. It's important to people. It's important to our economy and economic development."
Larry Baum makes the first landing Saturday in his six-seat Aerostar when the runway reopened after two weeks of repaving
Local buseinessman Larry Baum (third from left) is joined by County and airport officials and well wishers after making the first landing Saturday after the runway was reopened.
Tompkins County Legislature Chair (center) cuts the ribbon Monday as Airport Manager Mike Hall (at right of Lane) watches. They were joined by County and airport officials and local business people and representatives from the companies who are working on the runway repaving project.Lane complimented the airport staff, engineers and contractors involved in getting phase one of the the $3.5 million project completed on time and under budget. Airport Manager Mike Hall says that $4.5 million was available for the project, but a million dollars was saved by closing the runway for two solid weeks, as opposed to trying to work around airline schedules over the course of months. Once the asphalt has cured for a month, phase two will begin, but Hall says it will not require closing the runway again.
"There is still a phase two, which involves grooving the runway in another month, after the asphalt has cured," he says. "Phase two will be done at night between midnight and 5am, when there is typically little traffic. We will have to close the runway, but it won't affect normal operations."
Closing the runway was an inconvenience for regular travelers, so the airport is making it up to them with a week of free food and prizes.
"We are excited that the airport is again open for business," said Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Tavares. "I can't say enough about Mike as Airport Manager, and the support that the The Air Service Board of the County gives to this very important piece of economic economic development of transportation infrastructure for our county."
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