Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 3

19 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3 national pilot shortage, has decided to focus its efforts on other hubs. So, it is no wonder that when the highly competitive Small Community Right of Air Service Development Grants were awarded by the FAA this year, Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport took home the only one awarded for Texas. “We applied for the grant to offer guaranteed revenue to entice another airline to come in,” explains Wilson. “Right now, we have American Airlines with six daily flights to Dallas Fort Worth, but we know that there are over 176 people a day who live in our catchment area who are driving the 70 miles to Austin to fly to Denver. If we offered a couple of non-stop flights a day to Denver, well, we have the numbers.” He goes on to explain that there were 78 grant applications and only 28 were awarded across the country. Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport came into being in 2004 when operations were K I LLEEN-FORT HOOD REGIONAL A I RPORT moved from the Killeen Municipal Airport to accommodate a longer runway, as airlines transitioned from regional turboprop to jet service. It is a joint-use commercial and military airport which sees traffic from nearby Fort Hood, one of the largest military installations in the U.S. The airport’s one runway is 10,000 by 200 feet allowing the military to bring in their largest planes. Most of the general aviation needs are met at Skylark Field, a separate GA Airport also run by the city. “One of the main things we did as an airport that has made a huge difference is to bring Roque Aguon on as our Business Manager,” Wilson says. “And one of the first things that he did was to put together what he calls the Air Service Development Task Force, which has reached out to all the Chambers of Commerce, businesses, EDCs, and different folks within our catchment area – a 40 to 60-mile radius from the airport. The Task Force met with and invested time in listening to these folks.”