St. Cloud airport handles security checks for convention (newspaper article)
Dan Hoehn
By Lisa Schwarz
August 31, 2008
There may be more airplanes landing this week in St. Cloud as federal
authorities try to manage security while thousands of people converge
on the Twin Cities for the Republican National Convention.
St. Cloud Regional Airport is one of three airports earmarked to
handle security checks mandated by temporary flight restrictions. The
Federal Aviation Administration has designated the Twin Cities as a
"national defense airspace" during the Republican convention.
That means many private planes will have to stop in St. Cloud,
Rochester or Eau Claire, Wis., and be cleared through security before
proceeding to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport or St. Paul
Downtown-Holman Field. The stops aren't required for scheduled
commercial and cargo flights.
"We are one of three gateway airports," St. Cloud Regional Airport
Director Bill Towle said. "If you want to get into Minneapolis or St.
Paul while the convention is going on, you have to go through us."
It's unclear how much traffic could be headed here because of the
rules, Towle said.
Not all private planes will have to make the extra security stop.
Planes departing from about 20 airports nationwide that are already
approved to send flights to Washington's Reagan National Airport can
go directly to one of the Twin Cities airports, FAA spokeswoman
Elizabeth Isham Cory said. Similar security measures have been in
place at Reagan National since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.
All other private flights must apply for permission to stop at a
gateway airport first, she said, and they must do so at least 96 hours
before the flight.
Once on the ground in St. Cloud or another stopping point, passengers
will leave the plane and clear security while the plane is inspected.
Passengers can then reboard for the short flight to the Twin Cities,
Towle said. He expects any extra traffic to consist of eight- to 12-
seat aircraft and that most will be cleared in 15-20 minutes.
Aircraft leaving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area will also undergo extra
inspections, Cory said.
The FAA has barred flight training, aerobatics, gliders, skydiving,
crop dusting, utility inspection flights, model rocketry and model
airplane flights, and the use of hang gliders, hot-air balloons,
ultralights and other airborne activity near the Twin Cities during
the convention. The Transportation Security Administration will beef
up its work force in St. Cloud and the other gateway airports, TSA
spokeswoman Carrie Harmon said Saturday.
Towle said the airport is not increasing its staff this week. But
federal air marshals, who are not normally stationed at St. Cloud
airport, are expected, and air traffic control will be extending its
hours during the convention, he said. Passengers on scheduled
commercial flights, including four daily Mesaba flights to the Twin
Cities, shouldn't be inconvenienced, Towle said. "It's going to be
business as usual for passengers," he said. "I believe the TSA is
trying to work around our flight schedule."
But the unexpected can happen. The FAA has warned pilots that
noncompliance with airspace restrictions, which extend 10 miles from
the Xcel Energy Center, and other rules "may result in the use of
force." "If for any reason an aircraft needs to be escorted out of
that (secure) airspace, they'll be brought here (or another gateway
airport)," Towle said.
Such restricted-airspace incursions are generally made by pilots who
simply made a mistake, he said. "They've had a couple of those in
Denver. It's very likely we'll have one of those," Towle said.
The temporary flight restrictions are not expected to create a
windfall for the local airport. "There is not an additional charge
for these aircraft to land," Towle said, although revenue could be
generated by the small percentage of fuel sales that are routed to the
airport's balance sheet. "We are hoping they will take on fuel. That
would be a way to generate some revenue," Towle said. "It's good for
us in terms of marketing," he said.
The convention bump in travel to the Twin Cities is coming at a good
time, Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan said.
"This is the slow season and flight activities are down this year, so
we don't expect a lot of delays," Hogan said, adding that the
situation can change. "Expect the unexpected," he said.