Flying cloud expansion hearings this month

Minnesota’s Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is holding hearings this month concerning runway expansion and a project to build new hangars on the airport’s south side. The Twin Cities’ Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is also inviting public comments at its September 19 meetings to its proposed change of so-called Ordinance 51, which limits operations at FCM to aircraft weighing less than 20,000 lb. The FAA has ruled that Ordinance 51 is discriminatory. According to MAC, it is “considering changing the ordinance to ensure continued eligibility for federal funding, not only for Flying Cloud Airport, but also for Minneapolis-St. Paul International [MSP] and other airports in the MAC system.”

MAC considers FCM to be the busiest of six reliever airports in its system and wrote, “Expansion of Flying Cloud Airport is needed to provide greater access for corporate airplanes, one of the fastest growing segments of the aviation industry.” Plans call for extending Runway 9R/27L to 5,000 ft from 3,900 ft and extending Runway 9L/27R to 3,900 ft from 3,600 ft.