Aviation View | April 2021

45 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 Realistically, it should have been about a two- year project and we did it less than a year.” The next big construction project for the airport is the Crash Fire Rescue (CFR) building, to be completed in the 2022-23 time frame. Right now, the CFR building is in the way of the FBO and it will be moved to a standalone location. The vacated facility will then be potentially suitable for a small freight or an air ambulance operation. With the arrival of the new Fire Station, the airport will have a good, functional layout – no more conflicts. The only project remaining is to move the tower, which is adjacent to the air terminal and crowds that ramp for expansion. So the goal is to move it across the runway. From an industry point of view, because airports are so infrastructure heavy, it takes years to accomplish things. In his years at the helm, Hall has learned that you need to be constantly taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along, or you will fall behind. He notes, “We built the terminal in the mid-‘90s and it lasted over 20 years. But trying to stay as far ahead of the bow wave as possible is important because all these projects take lots of money, and there is lots of administration and program changes associated with it. The ability to look several years down the road is really important in our industry. Because, under any circumstances, it’s going to take you awhile to get there.” I THACA TOMPK INS INTERNAT IONAL A I RPORT