Hurtado focuses on needs of smaller airports, especially in the Central Valley | business

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, had two jobs to do at a news conference at Meadows Field Airport on Friday, May 22.

The first was to let area residents know that she had secured $1 million in state funding for the local airport — and a large ceremonial check with lots of zeros helped accomplish that goal.

The second was to encourage support for Senate Bill 661, the AERO Act — legislation introduced last year by Hurtado to increase funding for regional airports like Meadows Field, increase air service access, and increase economic opportunities across the Central Valley and California.

“We’ve been pushing for SB 661 since last year,” Hurtado told a small crowd gathered inside the William M. Thomas Terminal.

“It’s a two-year bill. We’re hoping to get it this time around, and hopefully get it in and signed by the governor,” Hurtado told Friday’s gathering. “That’s going to bring additional money to this airport, but it’s more likely going to bring money to every airport across the state of California. It’s a huge deal.”

According to the senator, there’s no other airport infrastructure bill like this one, and with it comes jobs, and more economic support for the whole region.

“I’m very proud that we got this done,” she said.

Hurtado also highlighted Meadows Field’s upcoming direct-flight expansion to Los Angeles beginning later this summer and the broader economic opportunities tied to that sort of regional aviation growth.

Kern County Airports Director Bill LaManque, who was present at the event, said he believes the bill, if passed, would not only benefit Meadows Field, it would likely benefit Bakersfield Municipal Airport in the city’s southeast, as well as small airports in Delano, Taft and other outlying communities across Kern County.

“We now have larger mainline aircraft serving Dallas, Phoenix and Denver,” LaManque said.

“We have daily flights to San Francisco, and soon, we’re looking forward to our new daily service to Los Angeles, beginning Aug. 11,” he said.

This expansion, the airport director said, represents a significant new opportunity for travelers connecting to flights at LAX to leave their cars at the airport in Bakersfield for $10 per night versus $40 or $50 in Los Angeles.

The difference in the TSA line alone is a stress reducer.

“You go to LA, you might stand in line for a couple hours,” he said. In Bakersfield, it’s a few minutes.

“You don’t have to drive the Grapevine,” he said. “You don’t have to get stuck in traffic. You can get an Uber here from your house. That’s what I think our advantage is. This is a viable option, and it’s a good one. Because now you’re one stop away. From LA, you can fly almost anywhere in the world nonstop.”

But all of this means infrastructure improvements will become a necessity at the local airport: expanded parking is just one example.

Here’s how SB 661 would work, according to LaManque.

For years, there has been a state surcharge or what is essentially a fuel tax on private aviation, he said. Much of the money comes back to airports, but it is not distributed evenly.

“It has gone to the big airports,” LaManque said.

Those airports get the reward, while the smaller airports suffer.

Through SB 661, Hurtado is trying to more equitably distribute the funding, so that the small airports have a chance.

Ryan Crowl, president of Bakersfield Jet Center for Loyd’s Aviation, said the amount of revenue being diverted has been estimated as high as $150 million a year.

“California has 35 airports currently with commercial airline service, just like Meadows Field,” he said. “But we also have over 200 airports that are small, general-aviation airports in California that don’t have commercial service.”

The small airports provide essential services, he said, including emergency services, flight training, aircraft maintenance, tourism — and they relieve traffic from the larger airports.

“These airports are the most vulnerable to the drought in funding caused by the diversion,” Crowl said.

“My hope is that SB 661 will force California to come back into compliance and distribute the funds equitably to all airports, including Meadows Field, including small airports like Delano and many others throughout the state.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to spend so much effort on a bill like this to force California to comply with the law,” he said, “but I am thankful to Sen. Hurtado and her staff for taking up the fight to do this.”