Cargo airport gets federal airspace OK

BUTLER TWP. – The group that wants to build a $1.6 billion cargo airport outside Hazleton cleared a major hurdle this week when the Federal Aviation Administration granted conditional airspace approval for the airport, officials announced on Thursday.

Attorneys Robert Powell and Gregory Zappala, of Gladstone Partners LP, joined state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, at the Printers and Allied Trades International Union district office in the CAN DO Corporate Center to deliver the news.

Zappala said the approval means Gladstone can begin entertaining proposals from private investors for the project, which Eachus said could directly create about 4,500 high-paying jobs, lead to tens of thousands of additional spin-off jobs, and pump hundreds of millions into the area.

Powell said the approval also means Gladstone can begin working on design plans for the site, which would encompass about 5,000 acres in Hazle Township in Luzerne County and East Union Township in Schuylkill County.

Eachus said he didn’t think the FAA would issue an approval as fast as it did. “We were told this could take up to three years, and we’re here in eight months,” he said.

“We could not have been granted airspace this quickly without (Eachus’) and his staff’s support,” Powell said.

The approval for airspace is dependent on Gladstone meeting several conditions, said Jim Peters, spokesman for the FAA’s Eastern regional office in New York City.

One condition is having the FAA conduct aeronautical studies if a structure is built beneath the flight path approaching a runway, Peters said.

Also, aircraft leaving the airport would have to turn right immediately after takeoff to avoid overlapping traffic patterns with the Hazleton Municipal Airport, and a smokestack located about a mile north of the site would have to be marked and lighted, Peters said.

Gladstone must also keep the FAA continuously informed on the “progress, construction, timeline and completion date” for the project, according to the letter written by A.H. DeGraw, FAA safety and standards branch manager.

The FAA requires the constant updates because “extensive restructuring of air traffic control procedures/sectors will be necessary to accommodate this new airport” and will require a minimum of two to three years to complete.

Peters said that because no federal money is expected to be used for the airport, any further approvals must be obtained from state, county and local governments.

Powell said the federal conditions are “very minimal, … routine” and “easily achievable,” and are “conditions we had planned on meeting and will meet.”

As far as paying for the project, Zappala said the financial burden will be borne by a public/private partnership, “probably with the majority of the money coming … from the private markets. Whether they be national or international, we don’t have an answer yet.”

Zappala said Gladstone has been working with “a couple of houses on Wall Street (and) some credit enhancers” to secure investment capital, and is working with the state as well.

“We have asked the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to come in and help with some of the development costs simply because it is a regional project and will have a major impact on the Commonwealth, especially in this area,” Zappala said.

He said he’s already had calls from interested investors, who are more likely to invest in the project because the airport is a public-use project.

“There are a lot of funds out there looking to invest money into projects that have a major public input or use where they can get a consistent return on their money,” Zappala said.

He compared potential investor interest in the airport to the interest generated by the state’s proposed privatization of the turnpike system.

Zappala said he’s confident the airport will also attract major cargo carriers as well. He said the highest cost in business is personnel, followed by utilities and infrastructure.

“If you’re a FedEx, UPS, whoever, it may be that’s running a hub out of Newark, JFK or Philadelphia, do you think you would get a better labor force here cheaper? That’s the first thing they would look at. The second thing would be, what are my obligations and how do I get into this transaction without investing a lot of capital? The third question is, how does that meld into my existing hub systems?” Zappala said.

Zappala said most shipments are flown into New York, put on trucks and shipped west on I-80 or south on I-95. “You’re just reversing that now.”

Zappala said freight companies could save tens of millions in fuel and airtime costs and landing fees by delivering out of Hazleton.

“Most of these planes that come in are in the air a lot longer going to New York than they would be to this site. … Everything costs more in New York and in those areas. … As a business, … they would say, gee, does it make sense to move our operation out there? We believe it will,” Zappala said.

ON THE NET

To see the FAA’s letter to Gladstone Partners and view video clips from Thursday’s press conference, go to timesleader.com. For more information on the airport, go to gladstonepartners-lp.com.