A Federal Aviation Administration requirement that was cited by Pitkin County, local airport officials, outside consultants and redevelopment supporters for years as one of the major projects necessary to become a full “Airport Design Group III” facility — a status that would allow larger aircraft to use the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport — was recently eliminated by the FAA.
The change relates to the required width of the airport’s runway, which is currently 100 feet. Previously, the FAA said that to become a full ADG III facility, the runway had to be widened to 150 feet. Now, according to county and airport officials who have been communicating with the FAA, 100 feet is OK.
The issue popped up toward the end of the local Airport Advisory Board’s Thursday afternoon meeting and sparked several minutes of discussion outside of the two hours of housekeeping matters that were officially part of the board’s agenda. Board members are said to have received the news about the FAA's policy reversal during a retreat held Jan. 6.
In effect, the change makes one of two proposed major projects irrelevant in the quest to achieve the higher class: the remaining one involving the runway centerline, which must have at least a 400-foot separation from the taxiway’s centerline. Currently, that separation is 320 feet. An airside project would move the taxiway farther from the runway to meet that requirement.
When developing the “Common Ground” recommendations that were adopted in 2020 following the yearlong community ASE Vision process to create a blueprint for the airport’s future, supporters of runway expansion often cited the safety benefits of widening the runway. Valerie Braun, a member of the advisory board and an ASE Vision Committee member who cast the sole 2020 vote against the list of Common Ground recommendations — largely basing her opposition on the runway widening-centerline goal that seeks to take the airport to the full ADG III level — said Thursday she’s still trying to digest what the elimination of the runway widening requirement means.
“During the ASE Vision process, when advocating for a wider runway, airport expansion supporters said that 150 feet was needed to keep the airport safe. Now the FAA is saying only 100 feet is needed to be safe. Why is that?” Braun said.
Airport Director Dan Bartholomew said he doesn't view the change as positive or negative for the county, the airport or the proposed redevelopment.
"It's just one less thing we have to address," he said.
Along with Aspen Village resident Ellen Anderson, who offered public comments during Thursday’s meeting, Braun said there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the FAA’s rules as to what steps are necessary to become a full ADG III facility — and related eligibility for federal funding to accomplish other redevelopment projects, such as a new terminal.
Both said after the meeting that they want to hear about the requirements from “the horse’s mouth” — a representative of the FAA itself, not from secondhand sources. Braun said she’s been trying to research the recent rule change herself and hasn’t found any information.
“That’s something we tried to get done during the ASE Vision process, and it never got done,” Braun said of the need for direct discussions with federal officials. “It would be beneficial to hear from the FAA, straight up and not filtered in any way.”
The advisory board is a recommending body to the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners, which will have the ultimate say on whether proposed airside projects will move forward. Another restriction that keeps larger planes from using the airport is the county’s 95-foot maximum wingspan restriction, a modification of FAA standards that can be repealed through a simple vote of a majority of commissioners.
“Those are now going to be the only constraints from keeping bigger planes from landing here,” Braun said of the wingspan limitation and, to a lesser degree, aircraft weight restrictions.
“There are definitely some new wrinkles to figure out,” she added.
Braun and other members of the community also are concerned about the increase in airport operations, especially in general aviation, or private-plane activity. The airport’s small footprint can be difficult from planning and operational standpoints.
Private aircraft pilots often have no room to park and so they perform “drop and gos” at ASE, parking at other airports and returning later in a nearly empty vessel to pick up their passengers: extra operations that wouldn't be necessary at a larger airport. Private jet activity accounts for 83% of overall operations at the Aspen airport, while commercial operations account for 17%.