Because of across-the-board budget cuts at the federal level, IFRA is one of nearly 200 airports that have been told they have until Wednesday to prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that closing the tower would not be in the national interest.
Idaho Falls Regional is currently served by Delta Airlines, United Express, and Allegiant Air, with non-stop service to Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Oakland. Airport Manager Craig Davis said he has been assured by all the airlines that service will continue regardless of what happens with the tower.
Here is a rundown of Grow Idaho Falls' arguments for keeping the tower in operation:
- The airport is the only CDC-approved pharmaceutical stockpile drop-off point for eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and southern Montana. The airport is also directly in the service area for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and the Trauma II Center, which serves a 250-mile radius, and a population of about 400,000 people.
- Idaho National Laboratory is the Department of Energy's lead nuclear lab. With 77 percent of INL employees living in Idaho Falls, this is closest air travel connection to the rest of the United States. Since the start of the current fiscal year in October 2012, Battele Energy Alliance/Idaho National Laboratory employees have flown more than 2,000 trips. The INL is also the site of several Department of Homeland Security and Cyber-Security missions, with international importance and implications.
- The airport serves as diversionary landing strip for multiple commercial airlines, corporate business, and general aviation aircraft that divert due to weather conditions from surrounding airports, including Salt Lake City; Jackson, Wyo.; Boise; Billings, Mont.; and even Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- Hill and Mountain Home Air Force Bases utilize the airport for safety training operations.
- The city of Idaho Falls has maintained an aggressive capital improvement and maintenance schedule. At a length of 9,002 feet, IFRA has the longest runway in the multi-state region. The airport has Full Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) capabilities for Index B operations with new ARFF trucks; there is a multi-million dollar snow and ice control program, with a new fleet of vehicles. A new passenger terminal project is under construction.
- IFRA is located in the geographic center of a relatively isolated multi-state area with a 120-minute passenger catchment area that is home to 665,359 people. The nearest comparable airport in Idaho is in Boise, a four-and-a-half-hour drive west.
- In 2012, IFRA processed more than 2 million pounds of air cargo through four companies: Federal Express, UPS, Western Air, and Empire Airlines. In addition, many banking and financial documents utilize these services for specific business documents.
Anyone who wishes to comment can e-mail closurecomments@faa.gov.
