Westmoreland Airport Authority eyes marketing study as coronavirus looms, runway upgrade nears

The Westmoreland Airport Authority plans to conduct the first marketing study of its two airports, hiring a separate consultant for each.

Authority officials cited the impact of coronavirus concerns on the air travel industry and planned runway widening at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport as changing conditions that could affect planning for airport operations in the years ahead.

“I think it’s a very opportune time to get this (study) done,” Executive Director Gabe Monzo told the authority. “The coronavirus definitely has a big impact on aviation.”

The authority is seeking a grant from PennDOT’s Bureau of Aviation to cover 75% of the study’s expected $100,000 cost, Monzo said. He said authority engineer Scott Kunselman, who is familiar with ongoing improvement projects at the airport, will spearhead the effort.

A specific marketing assessment for the Arnold Palmer airport in Unity will be handled by Boyd Group International, a Colorado-based aviation consultant that has worked with the authority in the past, Monzo said. He said L.R. Kimball, which has offices in Ebensburg and Pittsburgh, has experience with smaller operations like the authority’s Rostraver Airport, a general aviation facility that is not equipped for commercial flights.

Monzo said the study won’t address the authority’s master plan for its facilities, which has projected a possible expansion of the Arnold Palmer terminal if funding becomes available.

He said the study will consider such questions as: “Where do we go, who do we talk to? Do we want bigger, more airlines? Can we handle more airlines?”

“What is the effect of the widening of the airport (runway) going to be?” pondered authority member Don Rossi.

Spirit Airlines is the sole commercial carrier serving the Unity airport, with regular flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and destinations in Florida. Monzo has said a project to widen and strengthen the Arnold Palmer runway, set to begin next month, along with the recent installation of a second passenger loading bridge, should make it possible for the airport to handle more frequent flights by Spirit or other airlines.

He said the marketing study should begin in a few months, with PennDOT approval, and should take about a year to complete.

The first phase of the runway project, which will expand the width from 100 feet to 150 feet and will increase the thickness of pavement by 3 inches, is set to begin April 6, Kunselman reported. Widening work this spring will be completed during night hours, when flights aren’t scheduled.

The next phase will require a shutdown of the runway and all flights Sept. 9-24, Monzo said. During that time, he said, the authority’s two shuttle vehicles will provide service between the Arnold Palmer airport and Pittsburgh International Airport, which Spirit also serves, “so nobody gets stranded in Pittsburgh and nobody gets stranded here.”

The authority also plans to strengthen the terminal apron at Arnold Palmer, replacing asphalt with concrete. Pending state funding approval, the authority awarded the project to Lutterman Excavating of Salem Township, which submitted a low bid of $410,273.

Preparing for coronavirus

Monzo told the authority the Arnold Palmer airport has prepared for a potential coronavirus risk by providing hand sanitizer and soap at all worker stations and scheduling two porters who wipe handrails and doorknobs and clean rest rooms during daylight hours.

If the presence of coronavirus is suspected at the terminal, the authority will call upon Stratus Building Solutions of Wexford to disinfect the facility, Monzo said. If there was advance notice of a coronavirus patient aboard an incoming flight, steps would be taken to keep the person segregated while disembarking from the plane, he said.

Spirit President and CEO Ted Christie issued a statement this week indicating the airline has responded to the coronavirus threat by expanding “the cleaning protocols that our teams utilize on aircraft, focusing on high frequency touch points such as handles, seat belt buckles, tray tables and armrests.”

Christie said Spirit had already been cleaning its planes with hospital-grade disinfectants recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as being effective against the coronavirus. On-board air is cleaned with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters that “capture 99.97% of particles,” he said.

He said Spirit is waiving fees for passengers who need to adjust their travel plans because of coronavirus issues.

Monzo said he has not seen any drop-off in passenger numbers at the Unity airport since the coronavirus began its spread from China to other areas of the world, including eastern Pennsylvania and Florida. “It’s spring break,” he noted.

The airport served a total of 25,898 incoming and outgoing passengers in February, up by more than 2,300 from the same month last year and on par with February 2018 but down from that month’s passengers totals in 2016 and 2017.