by Chris Roy
Director, Mn/DOT Office of Aeronautics
There is an exciting new document on the Internet about General Aviation. It is the latest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report on GA Airports, dated May 2012. This is an excellent document produced by Ms. Christa Fornarotto, Associate Administrator for Airports at FAA. Be sure to also check out the article by Dan McDowell entitled “They Do Understand” on page 55. The article includes a link so you can easily access and download your own copy.
Also in this issue, Dan has an article on the economic impact of Commercial Aviation to our nation and communities. It is a summary article of the report and information released in March 2012 by the Airports Council International of North America (ACI-NA). The links are provided for this information as well.
I urge all readers to go online and download copies of the FAA’s report and ACI-NA’s report. They contain very valuable information that you can use and share with your city leaders to help inform them about the real value of your community’s airport. Please take the time right now to access these reports so you can also share them with citizens, organizations and businesses in your community.
The time and effort you put into sharing this data will benefit not just your airport, but your entire community. Your airport is, of course, the front door to your community. It is also an economic generator for your city and other towns in the surrounding area, as it provides easy access for tourism, businesses and services that support the community and surrounding area.
Please make safety your number one priority at all times. We want you to be safe, happy and healthy so you can enjoy the value of your airport, and aviation.
