Crystal Airport: Repositioned for future aviation needs
Nearly all the votes have been counted regarding the fate of the Crystal Airport. Once the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) weighs in, the deal will be final.
The plan calls for Crystal Airport to remain open at least through 2025 with two runways, down from the current four. The downsizing reduces the number of homes in designated safety zones and makes room for limited business development to provide revenue for the airport.
The plan was approved by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) a year ago and passed unanimously by the Crystal City Council in May. The Metropolitan Council approved the plan in October, and the FAA’s approval is expected by the end of the year.
The Crystal Airport air traffic control tower supervised just over 53,000 takeoffs and landings at the airport in 2007.
Crystal Airport is one of seven reliever airports in the region, owned by the MAC and named for their function of diverting smaller aircraft operations from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). The fact that Crystal Airport will remain open has literally prompted sighs of relief from aviation supporters, and cautious optimism from those still hoping to eventually close the airport.
Changes designed to ‘right-size’ the airport
In the approved plan, one of Crystal’s two primary runways, 14R-32L, will be closed by 2010 and reconstructed as a taxiway for the remaining parallel runway. The latter runway was resurfaced over the summer for safety reasons and reopened in August. Meanwhile, the turf crosswind runway will be closed to air traffic in 2010.
“Proposed airfield modifications are in no way intended as a step toward closing this important airport,” said Bridget Rief, Assistant Director, MAC Airside Development. “Rather, the changes are an effort to right-size the airport. Studies suggest a two-runway configuration is sufficient for Crystal Airport now and into the future,” said Rief.
The airport’s proximity to downtown Minneapolis will continue to make it a choice destination for pilots, she added.
The decision to keep Crystal Airport open may have been cemented as far back as the mid-1990s, when the Minnesota Legislature determined MSP should stay in its current location and that the MAC should proceed with improvements at the reliever airports to maximize their use.
Under the MAC’s plan, this is what the runway layout at Crystal Airport will look like in 2010. Runway 14R/32L will be closed and converted to a taxiway for 14L/32R, and a turf crosswind runway, parallel to 6L/24R, will close. See larger map.
The Crystal Airport’s Long Term Comprehensive Plan is one of several airport plans being pulled together for the Metropolitan Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan update, fulfilling state and federal statutory responsibilities relating to air transportation planning and development.
Pushed from the nest: MAC hopes to make the reliever airports self-supporting
Part of the new plan designates parcels of land on the airport for non-aeronautical business development. “It makes sense for the reliever airports to be looking at new funding sources,” said Chauncey Case, senior planner of aviation for Metropolitan Council Transportation Services, adding that success for any airport today hinges on getting this new revenue.
MAC Director of Public Affairs and Marketing Patrick Hogan agrees. “We are working to make the relievers as financially self-sustaining as possible,” said Hogan. A MAC report estimates revenues from developments around the Crystal Airport could generate funding anywhere from $364,000 to $987,000 annually, which could make up for the average operating deficit of $523,000.
The reliever airports are supported by fees and charges directly imposed on their users for the MAC facilities and partially by funds from the airline companies using MSP in return for the benefits the airlines receive by the diversion of smaller aircraft operations.
The FAA has designated seven airports in the region as reliever airports for MSP: St. Paul Downtown, Flying Cloud, Airlake, Lake Elmo, Anoka County-Blaine, Crystal and South St. Paul Municipal Airport.
City of Crystal holding out hope for eventual closure
A vote for the plan did not mean a vote for the airport, according to the City of Crystal’s Community Development Director, Patrick Peters. “We see the closing of two runways as a step in the right direction to eventual closure,” Peters said.
The Crystal Airport is one of seven “reliever” airports in the region, so named for their function of diverting smaller, general aviation operations from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. See larger map.
The City has a long list of reasons for why closing the airport would benefit Crystal. First and foremost, hundreds of homes in Crystal, Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park are within the runway safety zones. However, under state law they are considered “established residential neighborhoods” and continue to be a permitted use.
With the closure of two runways, the total number of homes in the zone will be reduced from 507 to 433; within the city, the number will drop from 264 to 216. The majority of these homes are not in the primary zone, but in the secondary runway zone. According to the MAC, it is not unusual for homes to be within these zones. For example, there are 1,880 homes in the runway zones around MSP.
The City also sees the airport’s 436 acres as an area to redevelop and grow the local tax base. However, a 2005 Wilder Research study estimated the Crystal Airport generates more than $19 million in annual economic activity and supports 200 jobs in the area. Some of the support businesses include aircraft fueling, maintenance, limited aircraft charter, aircraft storage, aircraft rental, avionics and pilot accessory sales.
Airport still serves as flight training center
Historically, Crystal Airport has been viewed as a good training ground for pilots. The airport opened in the early 1930s and in 1947, the MAC stepped in to help subsidize Crystal and a number of the smaller airports. Revenue streams by way of the GI Bill helped the airport grow. “For the World War II and Korean War Veterans it was a great way to learn to fly for free,” said Gary Grimes, a Crystal City Councilor and long-time member of the American Legion Aviation Post 511.
Flight operations peaked at the Crystal Airport in 1968 with 265,281 landings and take-offs, and have since declined greatly. In 2007, only 53,038 operations were logged. “There’s been a general decline in the numbers of recreational flyers and I think it’s because the young people can’t afford the expense of flight training,” said Grimes.
The number of annual operations at Crystal Airport reached a peak in 1968, and has been on a steep downward trend since 2000, though that may change in 2008. Current figures show that the airport had an average of 500 more flights per month in summer 2008 than the previous summer, despite the economy and very high fuel prices.
The exorbitant cost of owning an airplane is another reason, said Butch Maxwell, part-owner of Maxwell Aircraft Services Inc. “It’ll turn around, but it will never be what it was,” said Maxwell. He has seen the highs and the lows of the business his father, Kenneth Maxwell, started at Crystal Airport in 1952. “Half the cost of an airplane today is product liability, the insurance so someone doesn’t sue you,” said Maxwell.
To underscore his point, he made reference to major layoffs happening across the country in airplane manufacturing. “In the late 1970s, general aviation produced 18,000 planes a year. Last year, just 4,000 new planes were made,” he said. Maxwell’s business focuses solely on overhauling propellers, everything from antique planes to the newer models.
Other long-term businesses at the Crystal Airport are the Flying Scotsmen, North of Sixty Fishing Charters, North Memorial Air Ambulance, KARE 11 and a variety of small businesses.
Crystal Airport Manager Jeff Nawrocki said use of the Crystal Airport has been on the upswing since the decision became public to keep the airport open and functioning. “The pilots generally feel good about the plan, absolutely,” said Nawrocki, adding that the pilots feel their investments are safe. “Now that they are aware of the 20-year plan, they know it will remain open, they can put the issue to rest.”
Figures show that the airport had an average of 500 more flights per month this summer when compared with last summer, according to Mary Blake, FAA Air Traffic Control Tower Manager at the Crystal Airport. “That’s very encouraging given the economic news and that fuel prices were still very high,” said Blake.
Trends at the Crystal Airport mirror nation
This single-engine aircraft, parked outside Thunderbird Aviation at Crystal Airport, is typical of the aircraft that use most of the reliever airports in the region.
All of the MAC-owned airports support both recreational and business-jet flying. However, the MAC has noticed operations are moving more towards business flying and less recreational or hobby flying. Nationally, less than one-third of all operations are attributable to personal use.
According to MAC officials, the Delta acquisition of Northwest Airlines will not negatively affect flight volumes at MSP. “Delta has consistently stated its intent to maintain and grow the hub operations at MSP,” said Rief, who added that new airlines are expected to begin service to MSP including Alaska and Southwest Airlines. “Clearly the presence of all seven MAC reliever airports remains as important as ever in reducing airfield congestion.”
As the Crystal Airport looks to become self-sufficient, new businesses interested in the MAC property will need to go through a review process to ensure they meet certain criteria. Some of the redevelopment ideas circulated for non-aviation development at each of the reliever airports include gas stations, industrial/office/condo, hotels, restaurants, strip malls, mini-storage, new car lots and nursery plots.