Airport working to qualify for improvement award

CLOVIS — The Clovis Regional Airport is working with the city and Cannon Air Force Base to qualify for an annual $1 million Federal Aviation Administration award to make improvements to the airport.

Chairman T.J. Curtis said at Tuesday’s Civil Aviation meeting, covered virtually by The News, that official business base travel out of the airport is “still a critical piece” of the effort to increase the enplanement — an airport term for total passengers.

“Our FAA yearly entitlement is $150,000,” Airport Director James Harris said in a later interview. “When we reach 10,000 enplanements, our entitlement will be $1,000,000.”

Harris told the board 651 passengers boarded in June, up from May’s 507.

An increase in passenger numbers is partly due to the new Transportation Security Administration service, which began operating on June 1, Harris said.

He said an issue with capturing base business travel is the military book their flights through the Defense Travel System, which is much like Expedia.

Denver Air Connection, the only passenger service currently operating at the airport, “is not showing up in that system (DTS),” he said. Base personnel must go to a third party and so are “not utilizing (DAC) as much.”

But the city, airport and the base are making a joint effort to change this and get the software updated, he said.

In other business, the airport is planning a Sept. 18 public event. The Clovis Wings and Wheels event will display airplanes and cars.

“Clovis Wings & Wheels will get people involved in the airport, bring families out and they can help us get our enplanements up,” Harris said.