Security Proposals for General Aviation Airports Receive Oklahomans' Praise

A federal oversight agency this week called for local security assessments at the country's general aviation airports in a move that drew praise from Oklahoma's aviation industry.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended limited increased federal oversight, but also agreed with suggestions already made by numerous general aviation organizations that security upgrades at smaller airports should be made on an airport-by-airport basis.

"Because general aviation airports are so varied, individual airport assessments make the most sense," said Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. "What should be done at a smaller airport like Hinton is not enough at Wiley Post, but what's done at Wiley Post is not needed in Hinton."

An alternative approach that concerned local airport operators and pilots would have called for an across-the board security requirement on all the country's nearly 19,000 public- and private-use general aviation airports.

Another proposal called for all general aviation airports to be required to meet the same security standards as larger commercial airports.

Chris Dancy, spokesman for the Washington-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said it is unnecessary to hold general aviation to the same standards as the larger airports.

"There is no way to make every airport 100 percent secure, but what we also have to recognize is that the threat from small general aviation is very small," he said. "They are not effective weapons.

Various general aviation associations began studying how to best improve security at the airports shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bird said. The government's report this week largely mirrored many of the recommendations already suggested by the industry.

A group of industry representatives recommended in May that airports begin assessing their own security needs. Bird said about one-third of the state's 123 public-use general aviation airports have already completed the assessment.

While airports praised the decision to not enforce uniform requirements on all airports, they did express concern about the lack of funding for the security upgrades.

Terry Abercrombie, Grove Municipal Airport director, said her airport faces a tab of at least $600,000 to address its security concerns.

"Most airport operators are already aware of what needs to be done, but like anything else, the problem is finding resources to do what needs to be done," Abercrombie said.

Stillwater Regional Airport is facing a similar problem with upgrades that likely will cost $900,000 to $1 million, Director Gary Johnson said.

"We don't know where that funding will come from at this point," Johnson said. "It might come from airport improvement funding, which is normally for runways, taxiways and infrastructures, and we are attempting to get some money from homeland security grants issued to the cities. But at this point there is no funding to take care of it."

Johnson said he hopes to install all the upgrades within two years.