The Scottsdale Airport’s single runway, built in 1967, will begin its first major rehabilitation project on July 6th. The $12-million rehab will be a federally-funded grant project making it the largest in the airport’s history. This funding is coming from the Federal Aviation Administration and Arizona Department of Transportation and will only cover 90% of the project cost. The remaining 10% will be paid by ADOT and the City of Scottsdale, according to the city.
The airport will close for 45 days this summer, during their slowest month, to complete this project. A spokeswoman for the airport said they are estimated to lose around $163k in airport revenue from fuel sales, transient parking fees, customs fees, rental cars and transient landing fees. As most of the travel business slowed down with COVID, the Scottsdale Airport relied on its private operators and charter providers. This surge seems to be a result of people wanting to skip the whole airport process and risk of exposure to infections.
Of course, this will only be a small portion of the airports total revenue. In 2018-2019 the airport took in $5.9 million in total revenue. Despite the negative impact of COVID, and the regulations and rules it has given the airline industry, revenue is expected to exceed those numbers this fiscal year that comes to an end in June. As the growth continues, the airport expects to bring in around $6.5 million in 2020-2021.
According to the city, and other private investigations of the runway, it is currently in fair condition, but is showing signs of distress. The cracking, raveling, and poor condition of the blast pads and shoulders are areas of concern. This project will include rehabilitating the runway and connector taxiways, along with reconstruction of those shoulders and blast pads. The project will not increase the weight capacity or size of the runway. Other improvements to be included are electrical modifications, new pavement markings and reconstruction of the airport’s perimeter road.
