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The Burlington International Airport is facing a loss of between $20 million and $30 million in revenues due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus, a figure that far exceeds the amount the airport is expecting to receive from the federal relief package.
While the number of flights and passengers has dwindled in recent weeks, the airport will remain open for at least 19 flights a week. Airlines are required to remain in operation to be eligible for federal stimulus funding.
Gene Richards, the airport’s director of aviation, said the airport has seen around 100 passengers a day, compared to the average of 1,400 to 1,700 passengers the airport would expect to see each day in the spring.
“It’s not good for air service,” Richards said. “It’s fantastic for the governor’s and the mayor’s orders, which is to cut it back and stay at home. So it’s working, and we’re excited about that.”
Richards said the airport expects to see between $3 million and $7 million under the federal stimulus package. That payment will not be close to expected losses, Richards said.
“Even when this starts back up, it doesn’t mean that our revenues come back,” Richards said. “It’s going to take a long time to prime the pump.”
Under a directive issued by the Department of Transportation, airlines are required to continue offering services during the pandemic to qualify from federal stimulus funding. The minimum 19 per week is down from the typical approximately 200 flights a week.
The airport is going to cut back on expenditures in coming months, Richards said. The airport is already reviewing all of its construction projects, and Richards said late last month he would be reconsidering all discretionary spending.
Richards said he was planning on using temporary borrowing to bring in necessary revenue to keep the airport running, spreading the debt repayments over a long period of time.
“This isn’t gonna go away in a year,” Richards said. “The pain from this will last 10 to 30 years for some people, some people will go out of business. We will amortize our way out of it.”
Richards said he expected the next eight months to be particularly challenging for the airport as consumer travel habits remain down. But he said he remained optimistic about the airport’s long-term viability.
“I’m going to remain optimistic,” he said. “I think that people like to travel and people like to come to Vermont.”
F-35s
The Vermont Air National Guard has continued flying its F-35s during the pandemic, and the guard has received noise complaints recently, Lt. Chelsea Clark, the guard’s public affairs officer, said.
“We’re hearing more concern, I think because there is less air traffic overall but we are still flying,” Clark said.
The Guard has had a total of 154 formal noise complaints since the F-35s arrived in September, 27 of which were filed in the last month.
Richards said he also thought the lack of other air traffic and activity was leading to additional attention to the noise of the F-35s.
“It could be that there’s nothing else going on and they’re very noticeable now,” he said. “It’s one thing when Williston Road is full of cars, but when you’re going down and you’re the only one? There’s nothing but you. You know, that makes it pretty noticeable.”
The Guard has a total of 15 F-35s based at the airport, and has continued its normal operations during the pandemic, Clark said. The jets take off twice a day Monday through Friday, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
Clark said that the guard was listening to CDC guidance to limit the spread of the virus, including tweaking its shift schedule.
“It has had an impact on everyone, of course, but we are making sure we can still fly, following CDC guidance,” Clark said.
The first F-35s arrived in September 2019, replacing the F-16s which left the state in spring 2019 after over 30 years. The basing faced significant opposition from locals concerned about the increased noise of the jets.
The Guard is still in line to receive its full fleet of 20 F-35s before September 2020, Clark said. When the Guard reaches full capacity, 4 to 6 jets will be taking off twice a day Monday to Friday and usually the first weekend of each month.
Clark said only one takeoff thus far has used an afterburner, meaning less that 1% of all takeoffs have used afterburners, which make takeoffs louder. The Guard has also raised its pattern altitude and avoided flying over Winooski High School in an attempt to lower noise, she said via email.
During the pandemic, the Guard has set up a series of overflow medical sites, including at the Patrick Gymnasium at the University of Vermont and the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.
“While our maintenance and operations teams launch, fly, maintain and recover aircraft, our medical and mission support teams are building alternate healthcare facilities, maintain ongoing medical operations and manage medical supplies,” Clark said.
Col. David Shevchik, the commander of the 158th fighter wing of the Vermont National Guard, said in a press release last week that the F-35 program in Vermont played a critical role in the country’s national security.
“We have a responsibility and obligation to meet our federal readiness requirement and stay on our conversion timeline,” Shevchik said. “We take our state and federal missions very seriously and are taking every precaution to maintain the health of our force during this unprecedented time.”
