Things are looking up at LVIA, but theres more work to do | Editorial – lehighvalleylive.com

What a difference a decade makes. After years of advances and setbacks, Lehigh Valley International Airport is emerging from a holding pattern on growth.

Part of that malaise can be traced to the airports mismanaged land-grab in the 1990s for an ill-fated runway expansion, forcing the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority to pay a $26 million court award to landowners.

Throw in the 9/11 attacks, the recession of 2008-09, and the retrenching of the major airlines, and you have a one-step-forward, two-steps-back approach to delivering the level of airport service justified by the growth of the Lehigh Valley.

The latest numbers are telling. LVIA has had 27 straight months of increased passenger traffic. Its poised to hit the 1 million annual passenger mark in 2020. The last time that many people flew in and out of LVIA was 2004.

The airports future was buoyed last week with the opening of a two-plane base by Allegiant Air, which will bring 66 new jobs and a $50 million local investment. Keeping two passenger jets stationed at LVIA means pilots and flight attendants can fly out of and return to the Lehigh Valley for the first time. Mechanics and ground staff will be added.

It also means Allegiant will be able to experiment with and add new destinations, both to vacation sites and to major hubs, where passengers can make connections. That lack of flexibility, coupled with noncompetitive fares, has diverted Valley residents to airports in Philadelphia, Newark and New York.

The demand is there. Market studies show people inside and outside the Lehigh Valley want to fly out of LVIA to Washington, D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Austin, among other cities. Thomas Stoudt, executive director of the airport authority, says negotiations to expand the airports reach are continuing.

Allegiant, which has catered primarily to Florida vacation travelers, recently announced the startup of Allentown-Chicago flights. It also is expanding its network of bases around the country and has nine new destinations, including San Diego, Las Vegas and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

These are welcome additions. Yet LVIA is still playing catch-up on infrastructure and other improvements that need attention.

Parking is still a sore spot, long after the elimination of an economy lot and shuttle service to the terminal. The security checkpoint between the terminal and boarding area is a bottleneck at peak times. Traffic on Airport Road and Route 22 is worsening with the addition of a FedEx distribution center nearby and funding delays to widen Route 22.

The airport authority is planning changes expanding parking, which will probably mean a parking garage, and a $22 million terminal connector to get people through security more efficiently. It's also looking to move the entrance/exit on Airport Road and convert the former control tower site to a hotel and retail space, according to Stoudt.

Its taken a long time for the airport to shake off its economic baggage. The challenge now for the LVIA staff and county officials is to keep up with the demands of growth. The collaboration with Allegiant and proposed infrastructure changes look like a good start.

More:
Things are looking up at LVIA, but theres more work to do | Editorial - lehighvalleylive.com