Airport project brings new business

? A nearly $1 million runway resurfacing project at Newton City/County Airport is proving to be well worth it.

Thanks to a program through the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport is discovering firsthand the profitability of servicing larger jets.

Funding from the FAA helped finance a project to mill, repave and repaint the 7,000-footlong, 100-footwide airport runway. The project also included regrading the surrounding ground for safety purposes.

The project cost $981,227, far less than the $1.5 million estimate.

While the long runway was closed, airport traffic used the shorter, 3,500-foot crosswind runway.

The project has paid off for several businesses at the airport which are now able to work on repairs for mid-sized jets that needed the larger runway.

There also have been increased fuel sales from jets that frequent Kansas airspace, like NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Ward Burton, Joe Nemecheck and Jeremy Mayfield.

Airport Manager T.W. Anderson says he and his employees often share laughs with the racers when they stop through for fuel.

Anderson said part of the reason Newton’s airport has become such a popular stopping point is the low fuel prices. He said jet fuel currently costs about $1.65 per gallon, while regular airplane fuel costs about $2.38 per gallon.

Fuel sales provide about half the airport’s annual budget of more than $950,000. The rest of the airport’s funding comes from land and building leases the airport has with 23 businesses in the airport’s industrial park.

“We couldn’t make our budget work without both of those revenues coming in,” Anderson said.