Cavern City Air Terminal Gets $20K From State for Maintenance

A grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (DOT) could help maintenance at Cavern City Air Terminal as commercial traffic increases, according to Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway. 

Tuesday night, the Carlsbad City Council approved a $20,000 airport maintenance grant award from DOT for the purchase of airfield and maintenance items.

In order to receive the funds, the City of Carlsbad matched the grant with $2,222, according John Lowe, City of Carlsbad administrator.

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“Municipalities and counties with airports apply for grants from the State Aviation Fund. This fund was established exclusively for aviation-related projects,” said Manon Arnett, DOT spokesperson.

As part of the State and Federal grant assurances for accepting funding for construction, safety, maintenance, or other projects, these entities must maintain the infrastructure to a minimum standard, she said.

More: Cavern City Air Terminal gets $69K for aircraft parking maintenance

“To help them achieve goals, the DOT Aviation Division offers grants up to $20,000 every two years,” Arnett said.

She said the Aviation Fund is comprised of several revenue sources.

“Gross receipts tax (GRT) on jet fuel. A percentage of gasoline tax attributed to aviation gasoline, aircraft distribution (and) general fund distribution,” Arnett said.

“We’re continuing to see strong numbers in terms of commercial traffic at our airport, and every bit of funding for improvement helps,” Janway said.

According to City of Carlsbad figures, 126 passengers boarded 51 Boutique Air flights from Carlsbad to Albuquerque in July.

During the month of June, 128 passengers boarded 54 flights from Cavern City Air Terminal to the Albuquerque International Sunport.

Besides flying to Albuquerque, Boutique Air flies from Carlsbad to Dallas-Fort Worth.

In July, 133 passengers flew on 31 Boutique Air flights from Carlsbad to Dallas-Fort Worth, read City of Carlsbad aviation records.

In June, 116 passengers boarded 30 flights from Carlsbad to Dallas-Fort Worth, read city figures.

More: Boutique Airlines will occupy offices at Cavern City Terminal

In a July report from City of Carlsbad Development Director Ted Cordova to City Councilors, Cavern City Air Terminal was waiting for the finalization of the Taxiway C relocation.

He said crews were also busy removing foreign object debris from runways 3 and 21.

“With the heavier aircraft, we have been seeing more rock loosen from the asphalt,” Cordova wrote in his July report.

More: City of Carlsbad continues relationship with Boutique

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at [email protected] or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Cavern City Air Terminal gets $20K from State for maintenance

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