Business View Magazine | November 2020

175 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 WATERTOWN REGIONAL A I RPORT to Runway 35,” Syhre adds. “The FAA has been funding this type of project to remove any taxiway intersections with greater than 90-degree corners to reduce ground accidents and runway intrusions. So, within ten years, we will be moving Taxiway Bravo to line up with the parallel. Also, we’re out of private hangar spots and we’re looking to expand our private sector by early next year. We’ll offer ground leases to private owners who’ll build them.” Syhre reports that the COVID pandemic substantially affected the Airport’s commercial service. “We were down about 90 percent on enplanements,” he says. “In February, before the pandemic, we were at record numbers; I believe were just over 1,700 enplanements. Going into the pandemic, we were at our lowest of lows with around 30 in April. People quit flying, so it impacted our finances pretty heavily. The CARES Act helped out quite a bit. They went off of 2018 enplanement numbers, and we were over 10,000 enplanements in 2018, so we were awarded about $1.3 million in entitlements. We’re city-owned, so the city had to back us with a little more money than anticipated. But, I think, coming out of this, we’ll be stronger than ever.” The pandemic has also halted the Airport’s various air shows and events. In the past, Watertown Regional and LATI have hosted the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program, which gives free introductory airplane rides to youths 8-18 years old in order to introduce them to aviation. They’ve also hosted annual glider events where powered and towed gliders from all over the region descend on the Airport for a weekend of flight, tours, and camaraderie. And in 2018, there was a demonstration by the Barnstormers, a group of open cockpit Travel Air biplanes built between 1927 and 1932. “We didn’t have any air shows recently,” says Syhre, “but we’re hoping to expand that area when we get the new terminal built here in late 2021. So, we’re looking at 2022-23 options.”