Fri, Sep 30, 2005
Airports in Texas and
Louisiana damaged by Hurricane Rita will receive federal help to
make repairs so flights that are crucial to the local economy can
begin soon, Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced
during a visit to inspect hurricane damage at the Southeast Texas
Regional Airport in Beaumont and Louisiana’s Lake Charles
Regional Airport.
“Regional airports and the general aviation flights they
support are absolutely vital to the economy of this area,”
Secretary Mineta said. “We are going to see that help is
available to rebuild so these airports will play a key role in the
region’s recovery from Hurricane Rita.”
Secretary Mineta announced that the Federal Aviation
Administration has already begun assessing damage to radars,
navigational aids, communications equipment and facilities. Once
these assessments are completed, the Secretary committed to working
quickly to make sure the facilities have federal support for making
needed repairs.
Restoring general aviation flights is vital to the local economy
because they help get engineers to oil rigs, connect business
people to jobs and provide a base of operations for on-shore
patrols of pipelines, Mineta noted. According to a recent study,
the Southeast Texas Regional Airport contributes over 150 jobs and
$14.7 million in revenue to the local economy every year while the
Lake Charles Regional Airport is home to three separate helicopter
operators that shuttle engineers to oil rigs to make sure they are
structurally sound.
The two airports the Secretary visited today sustained
significant damage as a result of Hurricane Rita. Flight
restrictions were just lifted on Wednesday at Southeast Texas while
Lake Charles remains closed to all but emergency flights, Mineta
noted. Three other airports that handle only general aviation
flights also were damaged by Hurricane Rita, including Lake Charles
Chenault and New Orleans Lakefront in Louisiana and Stennis Airport
in Hancock County, Mississippi.
The Secretary pledged to make sure local airports
are able to play an essential role in the region’s recovery
from Hurricane Rita. “We will do our part and not waste time
getting these airports the support they need to rebuild.”
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