Blue Grass Airport IQ Test
How much do you know about air transportation in Central Kentucky?

Q. How long has Blue Grass Airport been at its present location?

A. The first aircraft landed on July 11, 1942. The first commercial interstate flight was on October 13, 1946, when Delta Air Lines landed at Blue Grass Field.

Q. What modifications have been made to Blue Grass Airport since it opened in 1946?

A. Since the airport opened in 1946, there have been two minor extensions of the runway which increased its length from the original 6000 feet to 7000 feet today. Other than the two extensions, there have been no significant changes in the runway design in more than 50 years.

Q. How many counties in central and eastern Kentucky utilize Blue Grass Airport for air transportation services?

A. Air travelers from all over Kentucky, as well as those from adjacent states, use Blue Grass Airport. According to several studies, the primary service area is comprised of 40 counties in central and eastern Kentucky with a population of approximately 1.2 million persons.

Q. How important are aviation services when a company is selecting a new business location?

A. According to Area Development Magazine, accessibility to a major airport is considered to be an important site selection factor by 56.8 percent of the corporate real estate managers it surveyed. Only 13.5 percent of those surveyed said that air transportation was of no consideration.

Q. How much will it cost to expand Blue Grass Airport versus building a new airport somewhere else?

A. Based on a 1996 estimate, the cost to expand the Blue Grass Airport is $89 million; the cost of a new airport would range between $750 million to one billion dollars.

Q. What percentage of the Blue Grass Airport's operating revenue is provided by the Lexington Urban County Government?

A. 2.3 percent. 48.5 percent is provided by the airlines, 20.9 percent from parking, and 16.9 percent from rental cars and taxis.

Q. How likely is it that Blue Grass Airport would be shut down to repair the runway pavement?

A. Since there is only one major runway at Blue Grass Airport, at some time in the future aviation operations will have to be suspended during repair and/or reconstruction of the main runway. Based on the engineering design report completed in May 1994, the runway 4-22 pavement is in good condition. The duration of the shutdown would be dependent on the scope of the work to be performed. If a second runway is constructed, no shutdown will be required.

Q. Is it possible that jet service at Blue Grass Airport could be eliminated or restricted by the FAA?

A. Presently, Blue Grass Airport at Lexington does not meet the airport runway safety area criteria for the aircraft operating there. The runway safety area (RSA) is a defined surface surrounding the runway (along the sides and beyond the runway ends) prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway. The lack of a standard runway safety area at Lexington is presently excepted under the grandfather provision of Federal Aviation Regulation, Part 139.

At the time of reconstruction or significant expansion of the runway, the Airport Board will have to meet the safety area requirement. If the RSA requirements are not achieved, the runway thresholds might be displaced, which would reduce the runway available for aircraft operations. This reduction in length would limit the size of aircraft that could operate on the runway.

On January, 31, 1997, an operational plan pertaining to taxiway restrictions for certain aircraft was approved by the FAA, the Lexington Air Traffic Tower, and the Lexington - Fayette Airport Board. This agreement averted the termination of jet operations at Blue Grass Airport.

Q. Would reduced air service impact tourism, convention business, and the hospitality industry in central Kentucky?

A. According to David Lord of the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau, "Lexington convention goers (as opposed to business travelers) have been able to obtain competitive air fares by booking in advance. It is the number of available seats, not air travel costs, that limits the size of convention bookings in the Lexington market. The loss of seats and/or jet service would be a major concern to the Bureau, because of the serious impact a reduction in service would have on convention bookings."

Q. Which councilmember wrote the FAA and advised that the Urban County Council was opposed to any additional air carrier runway at Blue Grass Airport, that the runway would be inconsistent with local land use planning, and that the council would not provide any funds in any form in furtherance of this runway project?

A. Gloria Martin, Lexington/Fayette County District 12 councilmember in her letter of September 25, 1997 to the FAA.

Q. Which councilmember wrote the FAA and stated that many Lexingtonians use the airports in Cincinnati and Louisville and would be in favor of looking into some form of transit from the Bluegrass area to these already established major airport hubs as an alternative to expanding Blue Grass Airport?

A. Sandy Shafer, Lexington/Fayette County District 10 councilmember, stated this in her letter of February 2, 1998 to the FAA.

Q. Does the attitude of Lexington's elected officials and the negative news reports about governmental actions as they pertain to the airport create a "no growth" image for Central Kentucky and Fayette County?

A. You be the judge.

Ed G. Lane is chief executive of Lane Consultants, Inc., and publisher of The Lane Report.

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