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Hanford Looks To Upgrade Its Airport To Serve Business

The City of Hanford is budgeting a $1.5 million improvement to Foggy Bottom Rd that runs adjacent to the muni airport in the next few years. The idea is to make more of the airport accessible to build private hangars for increasing business travel to Hanford says airport manager Everett Ehda.

The Hanford City council recently approved a city budget  plan that includes seeking the $1.5 million through a FAA grant in 2015. “We re budgeting  hat money because we expect to get it but it’s not a sure thing” cautions Ehda.

“Our airport is increasingly popular for business travel. There are lots of King Air twinprops that use the airport” – planes that carry up to 8 passengers. Among those flying into Hanford are new industry clients like Fry’s Electronics who recently located in the Hanford Industrial Park opening a Central California distribution center here.

The presence of the airport is said to be a factor in the decision to locate a complex here. The company runs a King Air in and out of the airport shuttling between the Bay Area and LA region where all the  retail chains stores are located.

Hanford airport is sometimes used by FedEx says Ehda when they can’t land in Visalia due to fog or other weather factor.

“As business grows it naturally brings more aviation traffic” including ag and industry jets.

Hanford’s airport runway is a mile long and that “can handle all but the largest corporate jets” he says

Extending Foggy Bottom Rd. will open up the airport’s west side to more development.

The airports 2005 master plan forecasts growth of 3% a year.

Over a 20 year period the master plan says the number of based aircraft is forecast to increase to 110 aircraft from around 75 based there as of 2007 before the recessions hit. In 2007 about 78 flights a day used the airport.

Now the economy has improved and the growth is likely going to mean more industry locating nearby in the next few years. Hanford sports more than 100 acres of  industrial land ready to for use – some owned by the city.

The airport is city owned but is still run like a business.”We must earn enough money to operate the airport, which we do.” adds Ehda.

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