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January 2008
AirTAP Forum highlights airport image-making
Tom Bullington
Gary Workman
Jeff Hamiel
Michael Beard
Michael Jungbauer
More than 70 people from general aviation airports and community government across Minnesota attended the fourth annual Airport Technical Assistance Program (AirTAP) Fall Forum, held October 16 and 17 at Breezy Point, Minn. Jim Grothaus, CTS AirTAP director, gave the welcoming comments.
The forum’s opening sessions on airport image-making were especially relevant in a year in which several local airports were in the media spotlight. “Crisis communications should not be your first experience with communications,” said Tom Bullington, president of CityImage Communications. Airports need to be proactive in creating a solid, positive image for themselves, so that “when something negative happens, it becomes just one piece—not all—of your image.” If an airport fails to create an image for itself, someone else will, he added.
John Schroeder gives a hands-on demo at the AirTAP Forum.
Gary Workman, the new director of Mn/DOT’s Office of Aeronautics, moderated the first day’s luncheon session, during which Minnesota Representative Michael Beard and Senator Michael Jungbauer addressed current legislative issues related to aviation. Beard said he is participating in a committee recently formed to look at the state’s revenue streams for aeronautics. Airline taxes and registration fees in Minnesota are among the highest in the nation, he said. “I have heard that if we could lower [them], it might bring back some of the larger aircraft,” he said.
Jungbauer, a member of the transportation budget and policy division finance committee, urged airports to work to promote themselves and the benefits they bring to a community. When communities are planning for future growth, airports can make the case that they helped the community grow, particularly in outstate Minnesota. “Use the airport as a key component of the strategic growth for a community,” he urged. “What does it bring to a city every time a plane lands? You guys have got to know that, and you have to protect that for all it’s worth.”
Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, was back again to discuss current aviation issues in the metro area, including the MAC’s $127 million settlement with southern metro property owners on noise-abatement work and Northwest Airline’s emergence from bankruptcy. Although passengers and operations are down, Hamiel said he expects the airline to stabilize, then start to grow the market again. He also talked about the possibility of a merger between NWA and Delta Air Lines.
John Schroeder, lighting engineer for Mn/DOT, led participants in a hands-on look at airport lighting and maintenance, held on-site at Brainerd Regional Airport. Other forum sessions covered airport planning, fuel handling and storage, Capital Improvement Program basics, and turf maintenance.
The forum was sponsored by Minnesota AirTAP (housed within CTS) and the Mn/DOT Office of Aeronautics , in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Minnesota Council of Airports.
More coverage of the forum will be published on the AirTAP Web site and in a special issue of Briefings, the program’s quarterly newsletter, in early 2008.