Forget about closure, instead reinvest
As the town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, considers the closure and sale of Bloomsburg Municipal Airport, AOPA is offering alternative development options that would instead preserve the airport.
In meetings that occurred in May and have continued throughout the summer, the town has explored alternative development options for the airport. One proposal from Town Engineer Drew Barton suggested selling or leasing the airport’s land to use for greenhouse farming.
In a July 9 letter to Bloomsburg Mayor Justin Hummel and the Bloomsburg Town Council, AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins reminded the town of these obligations and detailed the benefits of maintaining the airport—which is a vital transportation asset of the region, connecting individuals, businesses, healthcare, and serving as a hub during natural disasters and national crises.
Collins wrote, “failure to acquire approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the closure of the airport would be a violation of the town’s federal grant obligations and create a $6.4 million loss in annual economic impact for the broader region.”
Acknowledging the unlikelihood that Bloomsburg airport will be released from its grant obligations prematurely, AOPA suggested the town maximize the economic impact potential of the airport by participating in the Airport Land Development Zone (ALDZ) program.
The ALDZ program was launched in 2022—with the legislation receiving strong support from AOPA and the Aviation Council of Pennsylvania—to create more jobs on land and in buildings owned by airports across Pennsylvania. If Bloomsburg municipal planners can identify vacant airport land that qualifies for this program, it could reap accelerated economic activity and new revenue sources for the airport.
Bloomsburg has another opportunity: Address and profit from the hangar shortage in Pennsylvania.
According to a survey conducted by AOPA, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Aviation Advisory Council, the Aviation Council of Aviation, and the Bureau of Aviation, approximately 64 percent of Pennsylvania airports have a waiting list for hangars and more than 700 aircraft owners in Pennsylvania are on waiting lists for hangars. Additionally, 40 percent of airport revenue is derived from aircraft hangars.
Addressing this demand would be profitable for the airport and could be funded in part by a $1 million Local Share Account (LSA) grant that the Bloomsburg Town Council recently agreed to accept if awarded.
“Pennsylvania has a clear demand signal for new aircraft hangars. As such, Bloomsburg would be well advised to continue its efforts to develop them,” Collins wrote. “Accessing an LSA grant will help to minimize the time needed to amortize expenses and accelerate revenue growth at the airport while improving self-sufficiency and tapping into a ready market.”
AOPA will continue to work with local pilots and officials to cease conversation about closure of such an integral transportation asset for the community by conveying the potential future opportunities for investment are pursued.
