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Alaskan village building $76 million airport - for 100 people
The Alaskan village of Akutan is home to 100 permanent residents and 900 seasonal workers. Like many Alaskan communities, Akutan makes its money off seafood production. At the moment, the village is only reachable by a 70 year old sea plane - and they are quickly running out of parts for it. The solution is a new airport. The facility will transport people on the 20 minute flight to the town of Unalaska where they can connect to other flights. Like most Alaskan transportation services - this route is extremely heavily subsidized.
The new airport will cost a whopping $76 million. The sea plane currently carries 5500 people annually, so some simple math shows that in the first ten years of operation, the tax payers are forking over $1350 for every single passenger using the facility. This doesn't even include any additional costs of operating the airport (another $500,000 each year).
Larry Cotter, the chief executive of the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association says the following about the airport:
Well, call me ignorant, but I don't understand why a village of 100 permanent residents needs a $76 million airport. If the current sea plane is falling apart, wouldn't the best solution be a new sea plane? Alaska has 256 airports, and even the smallest of them may only serve 40 people - costing millions to build and maintain."Some people are probably positing, 'Oh, it's another Bridge to Nowhere, except it's an airport to nowhere. Anybody who says that is really ignorant."
Then again, when you read that Chicago's O'Hare is spending $6.6 billion on its renovation plan, $76 million seems like a bargain.
Gallery: Ten pilots you don't want in your cockpit
Before you leave, be sure to check out Episode 3 of Gadling's Travel Talk TV! They're in VEGAS, BABY!
Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines, Airports
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 5)
Allison Mar 8th 2010 8:11PM
I think this is a great idea. I hate how expensive it is, but I know it will be a blessing to the people of Akutan. My fiance lives in the village of Kotzebue and I will be joining him there in a few months.
For those of you who may not know much about life in Alaskan villages, the following is definitely something to think about.
Many small Alaskan villages do not have the resources to survive without shipments coming in through planes. Most of these villages do not have roads in or out of them. The only way to get to these villages is by plane, boat (in late summer through fall), or dogsled. The harsh climate makes surviving there almost impossible without outside resources.
If we can go to other countries who have very limited resources and spend billions helping them, why not help a few of our own?? (I'm not saying we shouldn't help other countries also).
In response to Cheryl: what an ignorant and unfair judgement to compare Alaskans (in general) to one politician simply out of your dislike for that person and/or their party. Whether or not you agree with that person and their actions, do not judge the entire population of Alaska for their decisions.
Jim Mar 8th 2010 8:23PM
We built one of those airports in St. Clair County Illinois, 3 million dollars, plus 12 million a year to operate, 10 years ago, it still sits empty today. A multimillion dollar boondoggle by our local politicians who were made rich off kickbacks, in my opinion...You in Alaska can have it for free, just come and get it.
Allison Mar 8th 2010 8:26PM
Scott Carmichael, please check your resources. As of 2008 Akutan is home to 796 people. More than likely, that number has only increased in the last two years.
marvineugene Mar 8th 2010 8:24PM
Damn, I love this comic strip. I bet Osama Obama loves it too.
Tom Mar 9th 2010 11:54AM
It doesn't matter who we point the finger at for this display of reckless spending!! Somewhere or somehow you can bet that an elected official has their hand in the tax payer cookie jar. They will have gone about in a number of different ways, first they will purchase the property under a quasi investment company that somehow had knowledge that an airport was going to be built in a remote out of the way part of Alaska and make a one time killing selling the property to the Government, (That elected official must be an investment wiz--wink, wink). Or why make a one time killing? Set up another quasi company that will be involved in the construction of the airport and then maintain the working operations after construction has been completed, this is known as residual income.(RETIREMENT) which I will never be able to do!!
Doug Mar 8th 2010 11:55PM
ANOTHER BRIDGE TO NOWHERE.
Doug Mar 8th 2010 11:59PM
Oh Tom, you can bet there are some politics involved here. For a population of 100, who will never go anywhere and rely on incoming traffic to foot the bill, gimme a break.
t2the5 Mar 22nd 2010 1:05PM
Political Partisanship doesn't really matter here. What matters is that buying a new seaplane is much, much cheaper than building an airport for $76 million, and so therefore that option should be chosen over the more expensive one.