THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611020571
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 155 lines
It's the year 2030. Supersonic and hypersonic airplanes are jetting around the world getting travelers to their destinations in record time.
But back home in Hampton Roads, you're standing in an interminable line at the airline counter. Your flight is delayed. You're going to miss your connection . . . and your important business meeting.
That's exactly the scenario many state and local leaders want to avoid by studying future airport needs in Eastern Virginia, including the possibility of consolidating the region's three airports and building a gigantic ``superport.''
This pioneering mega-airport could cost billions, serve super-fast jets that carry up to 800 passengers and take as many as 20,000 acres - larger than today's major hubs, such as Washington's Dulles International Airport.
With $1 million from the Federal Aviation Administration and $300,000 from the Virginia Department of Aviation, the state will conduct the second phase of an airport regional planning study.
The first phase of the study concluded that the region - from Richmond to South Hampton Roads stretching roughly 150 miles with a population of about 2.3 million - would best be served by a consolidated airport system in the far future.
It found that the Norfolk, Newport News-Williamsburg and Richmond international airports could handle air travel demand through 2030 with planned expansions. But beyond that, the airports could be stressed by an almost tripling of passenger loads and a nearly six-fold increase in cargo demand.
The leading options are to build a gateway airport or superport; and to maintain Richmond International Airport in the west and either build a new airport or expand one of the existing airports in Hampton Roads in the east.
The second phase of the study, which will start in December and take up to two years to complete, will select either the one- or two-airport system as well as a suitable location for new construction. It will also examine financing.
Virginia is one of several states considering hosting one of six superports that the Federal Aviation Administration says will be needed in the United States in the 21st century. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey are also vying for a superport.
Southeastern Virginia was one of the first regions in the country given money by the FAA for a superport study.
``There's going to be a couple of major airports in the future and the impact around those airports will be significant,'' said former Norfolk mayor Joseph A. Leafe, a member of Virginia Gateway 21, a group of influential business leaders that came together to promote the superport concept.
``We think Southeastern Virginia is a place that's a natural - because of the growth in the region, the port activity, the movement of freight,'' Leafe said. ``Also, as airports in the Northeast reach their capacity, especially the Washington Dulles area, this is a logical extension.''
Leaders won't speculate about the site for a superport, except to say it would likely be in a rural area between the Richmond and Norfolk-Virginia Beach metropolitan communities with good road and rail access.
There's not enough acreage in densely developed Hampton Roads or Richmond to build such an airport. So leaders are looking to more secluded areas such as Sussex, Surry and New Kent counties.
``If there's one thing I hear from the flying public it's that we have great airports with lots of potential, but the service is lousy,'' said Kenneth F. Wiegand, state aviation director.
``We don't have nonstop flights or direct international flights,'' he said. ``You have to fly to another airport before you can get somewhere.''
Hampton Roads residents probably spend more time in the Charlotte, Atlanta and Pittsburgh airports than their own waiting for connecting flights.
Supporters of a regional airport say that by keeping the current fragmented air service there is little hope of becoming a hub for a commercial airline or attracting nonstop international flights. Both, they say, are critical for satisfying air travelers and enhancing economic development.
``As the region continues to grow, and as we become more of a world economy, there is going to be a need to have direct access for freight and passengers,'' Leafe said. ``If we had the capacity and location to be a hub, we would have enhanced business opportunities.''
The lack of direct flights has been a deterrent in attracting large companies to locate their regional headquarters here, said Donald Maxwell, Virginia Beach economic development director.
``When we talk to a Fortune 500 company, they pull out an airline schedule and look at the connections,'' Maxwell said. ``It doesn't do much good if he can't get his people back and forth to headquarters quickly.''
Maxwell credits, in part, the large hub airport in Charlotte for the tremendous growth in that city.
In the 26-mile corridor between National and Dulles airports, job growth has soared from 50,000 in 1970 to more than 600,000 today.
The number of European companies with business locations in Atlanta more than doubled during the first five years following introduction of direct, international service in 1980.
Superports would be the next generation of fast and direct international travel. However, skeptics call the idea pie-in-the-sky.
Financially strapped airlines are wary of new airport development because they drive up gate rentals and other airport fees. The chief of the Air Transport Association in Washington, Carol B. Hallett, has said that airlines are scaling back hubs and are not looking to open new ones any time soon.
The region's airport authorities are worried whether the existing airports will be given the chance to prove themselves before decisions are made to close them.
``The Norfolk Airport Authority went on record saying we support any kind of forward thinking and planning effort as long as it doesn't impede on the development of the current facilities,'' said Wayne E. Shank, deputy executive director of the Norfolk airport.
Norfolk is planning a 200,000-square-foot arrivals terminal that will begin construction next year. Future expansion plans include a new concourse for additional gates and another runway.
``We fully expect we will meet the future needs of the area well into the 21st century,'' Shank said.
Jim Smith, executive director of the Newport News/Williamsburg airport, is also lobbying for the maximum development of the existing airports.
Smith cited a 1991 FAA study that indicated the three existing airports at full development could handle 1.2 million take-offs and landings a year - somewhat less than what is projected for 2030 and more than what any single airport is doing today. And it would cost less than $1.5 billion. The nation's newest airport in Denver, which opened three years ago, cost $5 billion.
``Historically, as communities grow they are served by multiple airports,'' Smith said. ``The reason is proximity to the population. If you have a superport 1 hour and 20 minutes away, how anxious is that person in Virginia Beach going to be to drive to cornfield international airport.''
State aviation director Wiegand understands the complexities of time savings.
By building one large airport, more nonstop flights could be attracted resulting in a reduction in air-travel time. As a trade-off, the time it takes to travel to the airport will increase for many airline customers, Wiegand said.
With a two airport scenario, he said, ground transportation time will be reduced, but the quicker, nonstop service may not be available.
Leaders of the planning study said the local airport authorities should not be spooked by the study since its focus is 2030 and beyond. A spokesperson for Gov. George F. Allen describes it this way: ``It's a far-future oriented study.''
It typically takes 25 to 30 years to study, plan and develop a new major airport.
``If we're going to get a location and be prepared to develop an airport that takes as much space as this would take, we need that lead time, so we're not trying to deal with urban pressures later on,'' Leafe said.
Wiegand, however, cautions against jumping to conclusions before the study is complete.
``This is absolutely not a superport venture,'' he said, adding that a superport is just one alternative.
``It's our job to be objective,'' Wiegand said. ``We are looking at our options on how develop a system in Eastern Virginia that will provide optimum service capabilities to our citizens and businesses.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by SCOTT K. BROWN
A construction worker goes about his work on the new terminal at
Richmond International Airport while the daily schedule of flights
continue.
Chart
REGIONAL AIRPORTS: A COMPARISON
For complete information see microfilm
Chart
PROJECTED AIR TRAVEL FOR EASTERN VIRGINIA
For complete information see microfilm by CNB