Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes
ST. GEORGE — Formula 1 racing in Las Vegas, the Super Bowl, the PGA Tour in Southern Utah, and other major events have created a large influx of people using St. George Regional Airport.
That creates challenges, with planes often being forced to circle over Cedar City before landing, or takeoffs delayed by air traffic congestion.
St. George Airport does not have its own air traffic control tower, so flights to and from St. George are transferred from Salt Lake City air traffic control to Los Angeles air traffic control.
“Having a tower here will make that much, much easier and safer for pilots,” said Richard Schmeyer, director of St. George Regional Airport.
However, construction of the tower will require $15 million to $20 million in funding from the Utah State Legislature.
“Safety is a huge issue. It needs to happen. We’re at the point where we need to put towers in place,” Stemeyer added.
On Thursday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, various legislators and airport officials gathered at the Department of Public Safety’s helicopter hangar at St. George Regional Airport to voice their support for the funding request.
“You’re seeing backups because there’s so much traffic coming to the runway, but you can’t move it smoothly because you don’t have enough tower operators to move people in and out,” Cox said. “We have to wait for LA’s response, and LA has a lot of other things going on.
“There’s so much traffic coming in here right now that collisions are happening more often,” he said.
The governor said the congestion “could ultimately lead to safety issues.”
“We can solve that by building a tower here,” he said.
Stemeyer said the tower could increase the number of destinations from St. George and lower average ticket prices.
SkyWest, the world’s largest regional airline, is also headquartered at St. George Airport.
“There’s a lot of demand for growth,” said Robert Simmons, SkyWest’s chief financial officer. “We want to expand our footprint in St. George, which will be of great benefit to the state and southern Utah.” Probably.”
Stemeyer suggested that without the tower, airline expansion at St. George Airport and tourism growth in southern Utah could be delayed.
“There’s a huge need here,” Stemeyer told KSL.com. “We’re growing so fast in the Washington metropolitan area, it’s unbelievable. As we grow, so do our airports, so we really need towers.”
Stemeyer said the airport had its busiest year on record in 2021, with more than 325,000 passengers entering and exiting the airport. Last year, the airport again saw around 300,000 passengers.
Safety is a big, big issue. It just needs to happen. We’re at the point where we need a tower.
–Richard Stemeyer
Stemeyer said Utah already allocated $10 million for airport expansion last year. The funds will be used for his four projects. and completing the road to the airport to develop additional hangars. The size of the safe area within the terminal has been expanded as the terminal’s maximum capacity of 273 people has been exceeded. Develop a master plan to identify nearby land that the airport plans to purchase. and completed research and design to find a location for a much-needed air traffic control tower.
A Federal Aviation Administration project is also underway to replace the airport’s terminal ramps due to concrete damage caused by blue clay. The replacement will also double the size of the ramp as airlines introduce larger planes, which will mean more seats on many flights, which is a good thing for passengers, according to St. Meyer points out.
Stemeyer said funding for the tower should be secured after the Federal Aviation Administration arrives in St. George in March and confirms the tower’s design, location and cost.
Cox said the Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to staff the tower at no cost to Utah if it builds it within the next five years.
“We will work with Congress, the state, counties and the FAA to obtain the funding necessary to build a tower that will keep everyone safe and ensure we can accommodate the growth we anticipate in the future,” Cox said Thursday. told.