Portland Jetport plans nearly $5 million in improvements

Portland International Jetport plans to spend nearly $5 million to upgrade the passenger terminal building, garage and flight path above residential neighborhoods.

Jetport officials are seeking City Council approval to use $4.75 million in cash reserves for several maintenance and repair projects at Maine’s largest airport. These include a new terminal roof ($600,000), a CCTV system ($800,000), carpeting in the gate hall ($300,000) and a departure baggage handling system ($1.6 million).

In the parking lot, they plan to paint and fire-resistant structural steel on the lower level ($850,000) and upgrade the elevator equipment ($600,000).

The appropriation will come from the jetport’s unrestricted cash fund, which currently contains $39.1 million, said Paul Bradbury, the airport’s director. This will not affect the city’s general fund or the tax rate.

“During the pandemic, we postponed several projects because travel was limited,” Bradbury said. “This will allow us to catch up.”

The funding request is on Monday’s council agenda for first reading. It needs a second reading at the next meeting.

The passenger terminal has been under construction for decades, with the oldest part built in 1967 and the newest in 2012, Bradbury said.

“Several sections of the roof of the airport building have weathered (ended) and are in need of replacement,” Bradbury said in a memo to council. “The CCTV network and baggage handling system are over 12 years old and require significant software, hardware and controls upgrades.”

According to him, the oldest parking structure in the jetport is more than 20 years old.

“The lower level structural steel will require the removal and replacement of the existing fire protection film and the application of anti-corrosion paint,” he said. “This project will also address water intrusion that has caused structural steel to corrode and damage to the existing fire protection structure.”

SOLUTIONS TO AIRPLANE NOISE

Also at Monday’s council meeting at 5 p.m., Bradbury is seeking $75,000 in unrestricted funds to develop a new surface approach to the airport that will address complaints about flight noise from residential areas.

The Jetport Noise Advisory Committee, a standing committee of the council, is developing a new approach procedure from 2022. At its October 10 meeting, it voted to request funding to formalize the procedure.

The new special instrument approach procedure will allow planes to stay over Casco Bay and the Fore River when poor visibility, wind or traffic conditions require an approach from the east, Bradbury said. The new procedure will be available day and night and will follow a very tight pattern of less than 0.3 nautical miles.

“This procedure will reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the residential areas of South Portland and Peaks Island,” he said.

Instrument approach procedures show the approved flight paths, navigational aids and other details necessary for a safe landing at an airport when pilots must rely on their instrument panels, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Pilots access these procedures through aeronautical charts available electronically through flight control systems.

According to Bradbury, the proposed new approach procedure for the jetport would replace the existing approach, which is only available during the day and in clear weather with visibility of at least 4 miles.

Also, no procedure currently available meets the advisory committee’s goal of having a fully surface-based approach that is available at any time, he said.

Bradbury said the proposed procedure is fully consistent with the committee’s stated goal to “maximize flight over compatible areas such as non-residential areas, commercial/industrial areas, the Fore River and the waters of Casco Bay.”

The new procedure will be developed by Flight Tech Engineering of Englewood, Colo., in coordination with Vianair Aviation Software, according to Bradbury’s proposal.

It will be available for one year and will initially be owned and operated by Jetport, Bradbury said. This will likely become a public procedure maintained by the FAA in the future.

The New Approach procedure funding request also requires a second reading at the next meeting.

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