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The Huge Controversy Over Moving This Runway 80 Feet
The Huge Controversy Over Moving This Runway 80 Feet
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Subtitles (545)
0:00
this is the largest plane that has ever
0:02
landed at this rather small airport it's
0:05
an older shorter Wing tipless variant of
0:08
the 737 configured to operate as a
0:10
private jet for a Texas oil company and
0:12
it just barely fits under the airport's
0:14
maximum width requirements unless
0:16
something changes and soon it will
0:19
retain that largest Landing record
0:22
forever that's because this airport just
0:25
5 minutes out of the famous glitzy ski
0:27
town of Aspen is stuck in limbo between
0:30
ultimatum by the federal government and
0:31
a local voter base reluctant to give in
0:34
to Washington's demands Aspen is known
0:36
for many things great skiing
0:38
Cosmopolitan amenities celebrity
0:40
sightings long considered one of North
0:43
America's Premier ski destinations it's
0:45
home to Michelin star restaurants and
0:47
seemingly far over indexed in designer
0:49
stores for a town of less than 10,000
0:51
permanent residents yet while the town
0:53
has grown in a claim population and
0:55
opulence over the decades the Aspen
0:57
picking County airport has remained
1:00
largely the same its Passenger Terminal
1:02
once acclaimed as the first building in
1:04
the US to use passive solar heating
1:06
opened in 1976 and hasn't changed much
1:09
since its Runway meanwhile was last
1:12
widened in
1:14
1983 and it's this very element that's
1:17
Central to its current Quagmire for
1:19
decades this Runway and the idea of
1:22
making it bigger has been a point of
1:24
local contention 30 years ago a proposed
1:27
expansion failed in part because of
1:28
widespread fear and loow clothing
1:30
towards bringing bigger planes here
1:31
specifically 737s largely voiced and led
1:34
by the famous Gonzo journalist Hunter
1:36
Thompson this created a problem without
1:39
expansion the airport couldn't allow
1:40
bigger newer planes and the planes it
1:43
could allow weren't enough to meet
1:44
growing demand and the changing Fleet
1:46
mixes of commercial airlines so in 1999
1:49
the Federal Aviation Administration
1:51
approved a modification of standards
1:53
that allow the airport to operate as a
1:55
Design Group 3 airport essentially
1:57
permitting it to operate with planes
1:59
larger than the physical layout of the
2:00
airport would normally allow but they'd
2:02
have to add some caveats you see Aspen
2:05
Airport is nestled in a narrow Valley
2:07
8,000 ft or 2500 m above sea level that
2:11
makes it the second highest commercial
2:12
airport in the US flat land barely
2:16
exists here in the middle of the Rocky
2:17
Mountains as most formidable Peaks
2:20
flaish land was artificially leveled to
2:22
create the airport in the first place
2:24
but the spot used is still stuck between
2:26
mountains to the west and a river to the
2:28
east so under those con TR the
2:30
separation between the airport's taxiway
2:32
and Runway is just 320 ft or 100 m far
2:36
less than the 400 or 120 normally
2:38
required for an airport to earn a Design
2:40
Group 3 classification to maintain safe
2:43
separation between planes on the taxi
2:45
way and planes on the runway the FAA
2:47
therefore requires that the airport caps
2:49
its maximum wingspan at 95 ft or 29 M
2:53
rather than the typical 118 allowed in
2:55
Design Group 3 95 ft is not much in
2:59
terms of aircraft wingspans it excludes
3:01
every single Mainline aircraft in United
3:04
American and Delta's fleets and plenty
3:06
of regional Jets as well but there are
3:08
plenty of other constraints too imposed
3:10
by the unique geography surrounding the
3:12
airport combined with the thin high
3:14
altitude air for example aircraft needs
3:16
certain high performance capabilities to
3:18
ensure they're able to safely clear the
3:20
mountains to the south of the runway
3:21
when conducting an aborted landing at
3:23
the last minute due to wind shear or
3:25
other issues similarly commercial pilots
3:28
need special training to operate in set
3:29
terrain and with all the exceptional
3:31
features of the airport for example
3:33
uniquely departing aircraft take off
3:36
towards Landing aircraft rather than
3:38
away like at almost every other
3:40
commercial airport and those inbound
3:42
aircraft descend at a rather dramatic
3:44
rate of up to 6% rather than the 3% more
3:47
commonly used so in practice combining
3:51
all these constraints the aircraft and
3:53
Airlines operating an aspen have been
3:55
narrowed down to one and one the crj700
3:59
by Sky West Airlines Sky West is then a
4:03
subcontractor that operates flights
4:04
under the Delta American or United
4:06
brands on their behalf but despite all
4:09
its uniqueness at the end of the day
4:11
bureaucratically Aspen Airport is just
4:13
another one of the 5200 public use
4:16
airports in the US Each of which are
4:18
regulated and overseen by the Federal
4:20
Aviation Administration every one of
4:22
those public use airports is part of the
4:24
wide network of the national integrated
4:26
plan of airports which makes them
4:27
eligible for federal money the the FAA
4:30
funds in two ways first through
4:32
entitlements which is money D out to all
4:35
airports based on traffic and the
4:36
federal piece of the pie they are
4:38
entitled to receive and then
4:39
discretionary which comes in the form of
4:41
Grants and selective funding since 1982
4:44
the Aspen Airport has received
4:46
$116.5 million from the FAA and in the
4:49
past two years $12 million has been
4:51
allocated just for Runway repairs and of
4:54
course there are strings attached to the
4:56
money that the FAA gives in this case
4:59
there called Grant assurances it's in
5:02
this 20page document that the agency
5:04
lays out its desires to make sure its
5:06
Investments are solid and also funding
5:08
projects the way they want them to be
5:10
funded for example number 19 says the
5:13
airport will operate in a quote safe and
5:15
serviceable system this has proved a
5:18
problem for Aspen because it's Runway
5:20
it's single Runway that Services all
5:22
traffic both inbound and outbound is
5:25
teetering on unsafe it closed for 2
5:28
weeks in May 202 2 then another two in
5:31
2023 for repaving projects on the
5:33
taxiway and Runway that were completed
5:35
to meet the faa's grant obligations at
5:38
the time officials pulled out a 14-in
5:40
Runway core sample and the bottom 7 in
5:42
of it fell apart when it was extracted
5:44
indicating not only surface issues but
5:47
confirming subgradient degradation
5:50
especially in the area of the runway
5:51
where planes typically land then in 2024
5:55
the runway closed for three more weeks
5:56
for more repairs crack Sealing repaving
5:59
and pavement replacement in specific
6:01
areas like here and here airports
6:04
constantly undergo maintenance with
6:05
major hubs repaving their own runways
6:07
nearly every decade but typically this
6:09
is done at night and staggered in phases
6:12
to maintain at least some operations
6:14
shutting down entirely like in Pickin
6:17
county is far rare but because the
6:20
repairs are primarily superficial future
6:22
extended closures and unexpected ones
6:25
are all but guaranteed if the runway is
6:27
not fully replaced the FAA doesn't want
6:30
to keep doing this in fact they've said
6:33
this outright quote with the expenditure
6:35
of $18.5 million on Runway maintenance
6:38
we will not invest additional funding to
6:40
maintain the existing Runway and taxiway
6:42
pavement the next FAA investment will be
6:45
to reconstruct the runway in the
6:46
location shown on the approved Alp
6:49
basically they're not going to give any
6:51
more money to fix the runway they'll
6:54
only pay to replace it but the county
6:56
has a plan for this it's called the
6:59
airplan layout plan in fact its approved
7:02
Alp the one currently filed with the FAA
7:05
who approves all Alps included a new
7:07
green terminal with fewer Gates a sound
7:09
burm increased parking and a widen
7:11
Runway with a separation of 400 ft from
7:14
the taxi way compared to the existing
7:15
320 ft these plans were approved by
7:19
County Commissioners in 2015 and then by
7:21
the FAA in 2016 but what should have
7:24
been case closed and development plans
7:26
put into place was then really only the
7:29
beginning it's all down to these 80 ft
7:34
that's because with 400t separation the
7:36
airport would get upgraded to a full
7:38
Design Group 3 status no modification of
7:41
Standards necessary therefore any
7:44
aircraft with a wingspan under 118 ft
7:46
could fly here without restriction so if
7:49
they wanted to and performance
7:51
characteristics allowed United Airlines
7:53
for example could start flying
7:54
comparatively massive 737s to Aspen
7:58
regardless of any sort of local
7:59
legislation nothing could stop the
8:01
airline as the FAA prohibits any sort of
8:04
discrimination of aircraft type beyond
8:06
that necessary due to the physical
8:07
constraints of an airport this is the
8:10
potential future that has residents up
8:12
in arms locally a hot button debate has
8:15
set off between the two Futures one
8:18
where the runway and taxiway stay where
8:19
they are and one where they're moved 80
8:21
ft further apart the core of onsides
8:25
argument is the simple fact that the fa
8:27
has intimated that a lack of
8:28
Redevelopment would mean the airport
8:30
quote would never receive additional FAA
8:32
funding but outside of the faa's demands
8:35
there are other potential benefits to
8:37
allowing bigger planes when picking
8:39
County surveyed community members for
8:40
what they wanted in a new airport a key
8:43
goal was reducing greenhouse gas
8:45
emissions in fact community members
8:47
suggested negotiating with the FAA and
8:49
Airlines to only bring airplanes with
8:51
lower carbon emissions and noise
8:53
pollution than the
8:54
crj700 supporters argue that allowing
8:56
wider wingspans is essential for
8:58
reducing greenhouse gas gas emissions
9:00
altogether and that it's not even clear
9:02
the 737s can handle flying in and out of
9:04
Aspen the current preferred replacement
9:06
for the crj700 the Embraer 175 is a
9:09
class 3 jet that can theoretically land
9:12
here under the modification of Standards
9:14
after a long process of certification
9:16
and software modifications to gain the
9:17
performance characteristics needed for
9:19
operation here United has announced it
9:21
will begin service to Aspen on the e175
9:23
in Winter 2024 but this aircraft type is
9:26
more polluting than the
9:27
crj700 so proponents argue that bigger
9:30
wingspans could allow commercial
9:32
carriers to introduce better models to
9:34
the market the Airbus a220 for example
9:37
has a slightly bigger passenger load
9:38
than the Embraer and could boast less
9:40
than half of the per passenger mile
9:43
carbon emissions than the
9:44
crj700 moreover it's a newer airplane
9:47
model that's quieter than the crj700 and
9:50
might offer Aspen access to further
9:52
markets thanks to its longer range both
9:55
sides do ultimately agree that the
9:57
airport's terminal should be upgraded
9:59
currently up to eight Jets can sit on
10:01
the ground simultaneously and the new
10:03
terminal proposal won't increase its
10:05
size in fact it could have room for six
10:07
or eight Jets depending on the size
10:10
that's because community members and
10:11
picking County officials recommended
10:13
introducing Flex gates to the terminal
10:15
essentially the terminal could scale
10:17
down to accommodate bigger Jets like the
10:19
Airbus a220 which would occupy two
10:21
spaces or scale up for smaller Jets by
10:24
limiting the number of commercial jets
10:25
that would come through here this new
10:27
terminal would limit the airport's
10:29
commerci commercial service capacity
10:30
regardless of the faa's access
10:32
requirements which has made it amable to
10:34
a broader audience it's a rare winwin
10:37
win proposal a new terminal could
10:39
support Aspen's environmentalist ethos
10:41
improve passengers airport experience
10:43
and intuitively limit the airport's
10:45
traffic all of which has made it a rare
10:47
point of consensus among the airport
10:49
stakeholders but that's where consensus
10:52
ends leading the opposition is a group
10:54
called Aspen fly right this organization
10:57
contends that the county doesn't
10:59
actually need to build a bigger airport
11:01
it could just build a better one Aspen
11:04
flyght is concerned about the effect
11:06
those 80 ft would have on noise
11:08
pollution and eventual crowding as
11:10
development potentially creeps up in the
11:11
Aspen area as more people are flown in
11:14
they question the need for a bigger
11:15
airport and the motives behind it after
11:18
all GF stream 650s which have a wingspan
11:20
of 99 ft would be newly granted access
11:23
to Aspen if the airport is widened and
11:25
the 650s are popular among Aspen's Elite
11:28
with some new news outlets reporting
11:30
that more than 30 people with real
11:31
estate ties to the area are also owners
11:34
of the $60 million plane taxpayers don't
11:37
need a foot the bill for larger private
11:38
planes to access Aspen the group says
11:41
they think the private Flyers should do
11:42
so instead of relocating the runway
11:45
Aspen flyright argues that the county
11:47
could simply replace the current one in
11:49
its spot continue with status quo
11:51
modification of standards and in the
11:53
lynchpin of the argument do it all
11:55
without Federal funding to do so they
11:57
say the county could take over the
11:59
operations of the airport's fixed Bas
12:00
operator essentially the facilities used
12:02
for private jets from Atlantic Aviation
12:05
who runs the lucrative business right
12:06
now and earn1 19 to $20 million per year
12:09
more than enough to fund repairs and
12:11
future improvements the idea of
12:13
operating a commercial airport in
12:14
America without FAA funding is
12:17
essentially unheard of the idea of an
12:19
american commercial airport being a
12:21
profitable Venture without outside money
12:23
is essentially
12:24
unprecedented but the idea of operating
12:26
your own FBO isn't all Aspen needs to do
12:30
is look to Jackson Wyoming its northern
12:32
counterpart with similar Trends in air
12:34
traffic and management most specifically
12:37
a massively High ratio of private jet
12:39
operations to commercial ones its County
12:41
purchased the private Aviation side of
12:43
its airport for $26 million and assumed
12:46
operations upon purchase this year it's
12:48
projected to earn $5 million in Revenue
12:51
according to County budget reports so
12:53
the situation that Aspen flyright
12:55
proposes playing chicken with the FAA
12:58
would be unprecedent
12:59
but on the other hand if anyone could
13:01
make this unprecedented scenario work it
13:04
would be Aspen well on the commercial
13:06
side it's a fairly small Regional
13:08
Airport it sees some of the highest
13:10
private jet traffic of any airport in
13:12
the world beating the numbers of
13:14
countless cities orders of magnitude
13:17
larger and Aspen flyght isn't the only
13:20
group fighting against the expanded
13:21
layout there's also citizens against
13:24
bigger planes whereas fly right's tactic
13:26
is to function as a nonprofit that
13:28
advocates for its preferred
13:29
Redevelopment alternative citizens
13:31
against bigger planes wants the
13:32
electorate the roughly 13,000 registered
13:35
voters in Aspen Snowmass Woody Creek and
13:37
Beyond to help make the choice and to do
13:39
that they've put it on the November
13:41
ballot the group collected enough
13:43
signatures for a successful citizen
13:45
petition that asks to amend the County's
13:47
Charter taking away the county
13:49
commissioner's right to approve the
13:50
runway expansion and instead handing
13:52
that decision to the voters making them
13:55
the only ones with the power to approve
13:57
an expansion but not to be outdone or
13:59
see their power stripped the board of
14:01
County Commissioners mounted their own
14:02
defense by drafting ballot language that
14:04
amends the same county Charter to
14:06
reaffirm their exclusive authority to
14:08
approve Runway expansion essentially
14:10
there are two competing and
14:12
contradictory ballot measures so there's
14:14
a vote to maintain the status quo and a
14:16
vote to set up another vote
14:19
simultaneously there's a web of
14:20
competing interests Beyond The Duo of
14:22
anti-expansion groups there's a third
14:24
the Coalition for a 21st century airport
14:27
comprised of local leaders former
14:28
Council and commissioner members and
14:30
business Executives in favor of the
14:31
approval of the updated Alp with the
14:33
widen separation and on top of that
14:36
there's accusations of misinformation by
14:38
all sides and disagreement on basic
14:40
facts for example each side postures
14:43
that their vision for the future will
14:44
lead to lower emissions and less noise
14:46
pollution while nobody can agree on
14:48
whether the current modification of
14:49
standards would be removed and the
14:51
airport downgraded if the runway were
14:52
rebuilt in place the voter base
14:55
meanwhile is faced with a deluge of
14:57
Highly technical information relating to
14:59
the intricacies of FAA grant funding
15:02
Alps aircraft design groups and more if
15:05
it all seems confusing it is there are
15:08
facts and then there are feelings behind
15:10
the facts and ultimately it's a tricky
15:12
decision between a certain future with
15:14
what some considered undesired
15:15
consequences or an uncertain one with
15:17
unknown
15:19
consequences as the electorate waits to
15:21
decide on their preferred path forward
15:23
the implications of an action are
15:25
mounting up for example the second
15:28
closest maj Airline Hub to Aspen behind
15:30
United's in Denver is Deltas in Salt
15:33
Lake City back in 2019 the airline
15:35
operated as many as three flights a day
15:37
from the city allowing easy
15:39
geographically convenient access to the
15:41
broader Delta network but come 2020 and
15:44
the co pandemic the airline cut service
15:46
to Aspen altogether as it elected to
15:48
ground its crj700 Fleet as a cost-saving
15:50
measure leaving no aircraft left in its
15:53
Fleet to service the airport while
15:55
service has since returned the airline
15:56
has been steadily reducing its crj7 100
15:59
Fleet and has cited this as to why it no
16:01
longer Services Aspen from Salt Lake
16:03
City rather only the less geographically
16:05
convenient Los Angeles in Atlanta hubs
16:08
while this issue could theoretically be
16:09
rectified with the upcoming introduction
16:11
of e175 service to Aspen other
16:14
consequences are permanent for example
16:17
in September the airport missed out on a
16:19
slice of $100 million in federal funding
16:21
that could have been used to reduce the
16:23
cost of Redevelopment since the FAA
16:25
considered them ineligible for the grant
16:27
due to a lack of an approved alp
16:29
and the lack of an Alp in funding
16:31
therefore means the runway is continuing
16:33
to degrade airport leadership has said
16:36
that the longer they go without a
16:37
replacement the more frequent the
16:38
closures for maintenance could become
16:40
and the less predictable the closures
16:41
would be this opens up the potential
16:44
that maintenance would need to happen
16:46
not in the spring or fall off Seasons
16:48
when tourists are rare but perhaps in
16:50
the midst of winter cutting off tourist
16:52
access and therefore cutting out the
16:54
core of the area's economy the tale of
16:57
Aspen airports is a familiar one in
16:59
America federal and state governments
17:01
are substantially responsible for
17:03
infrastructure development in this
17:04
country and they believe they know best
17:07
but there are plenty of instances where
17:09
these larger forms of government have
17:10
gotten it wrong interstates bifurcating
17:13
communities in two or dams that create
17:15
environmental catastrophes local
17:17
electorates also believe they know best
17:20
about what infrastructure is best in
17:21
their local area but there are also
17:24
plenty of instances where they've got it
17:26
wrong train lines rerouted far beyond
17:28
the direct path or parking spots
17:29
prioritized over bike Lanes but through
17:32
the process of sorting through the
17:33
dispute of who has it right and wrong
17:36
everyone can lose in Aspen everyone
17:39
wants a new terminal everyone wants a
17:41
rebuilt runway yet neither can happen
17:43
until the county can decide on the full
17:45
plan what's going on right now sounds on
17:48
the surface like the right thing to do
17:50
is the process of determining which
17:52
version of this piece of infrastructure
17:53
is going to make the most number of
17:55
people happy but in a scenario where
17:57
everyone can lose it poses a question as
17:59
to who and how many should be involved
18:02
in determining the best path forward
18:04
whatever the answer is it appears When
18:06
comparing the state of this country's
18:08
airports Bridges transit systems and
18:10
more to those around the world that
18:12
whatever the American answer is it just
18:14
isn't the right
18:17
one the two airport ballot measures in
18:19
picking County are just one small part
18:21
of a very big very consequential
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