Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

Contributor

Mark Huber

East Hampton’s move to close its public airport, East Hampton Airport (KHTO), at the end of this month and reopen it as a private-use facility in March has been delayed until May 17. This extra time will allow the town and FAA to attempt working together to resolve approval issues with its airspace, tower staffing, procedures, and IFR approaches. Under the revised schedule, the airport is expected to reopen May 19.&nbsp;

 


On Thursday, town supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc acknowledged that recertifying instrument approaches into the airport could take until the end of the summer and would make the field essentially VFR-only until then. The FAA had previously warned the town that converting to private use would require a variety of approvals that could take up to two years and would disable all&nbsp;FAA-operated navigational, weather, and communications aids and that Class D airspace will not be applicable. The FAA noted that “private airports cannot use publicly-funded procedures,” that replacement procedures developed must be “special-use” and must be approved by the FAA, and that “navigational, weather, and communications aids must be reestablished.”&nbsp;

 


The town’s strategy to convert the airport to private-use, officially in the name of noise abatement, has prompted charges that the town was at least partially motivated by the presence of $10 million of unspent federal grant funds designated for the airport, which, by converting the airport to private use, the town could try and use for other purposes. In February the town announced that it would spend exactly $10 million to acquire 12.4 acres of prime real estate, convert it to farmland, and lease it to a farmer.&nbsp;

 


Converting the airport also has drawn widespread criticism from a variety of aviation interests. Earlier this month, Kenneth Grimes, the vice president of air ambulance conglomerate Global Medical Response, warned the town board that the move would eliminate the airport’s “essential utility it provides the community” by making it, essentially, a VFR-only airport, thereby “limiting access in weather conditions that frequently prevail on the eastern end of Long Island, crippling our capacity to serve the area, and impeding our ability to save lives.”&nbsp;

 


Jeff Smith, v-p of operations and government affairs for the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, warned fellow members, “We are in a very serious time here. We are continuing to work through this issue and want to remind everyone that [KHTO]&nbsp;is everybody’s problem. Covid has put incredible strain on our heliport infrastructure and they are having hard financial times. The summer service is very important to them so a reduction or change in operations will greatly affect their livelihood.” In an article published earlier this month in the Long Island Business News, Smith maintained that hastily converting the airport to private use would simply move the local noise problem to other area communities and create “chaos in the skies and more traffic on our roads.”

 


Smith’s concerns were echoed by Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade Air Mobility. Wiesenthal told AIN that the airport is “one of the most important pieces of infrastructure” on eastern Long Island and that converting it to private use “is not the right method” to achieve the town’s advertised goal of noise abatement. “We’ve flown tens of thousands of people back and forth between various bases in the Hamptons [and New York City] and they are not going to stop flying. There are lots of alternative landing zones from South Hampton to Montauk to Sag Harbor that can be used by amphibious seaplanes, helicopters you name it. Sag Harbor is only a ten-minute drive to the East Hampton airport. What incentive will operators have to fly noise abatement routes if all of a sudden the [East Hampton] airport is either closed or has numerous restrictions to constrain the number of flights?”

 


Wiesenthal said that Blade had proposed a number of noise abatement solutions to the town board including the use of over-water routes, deeper curfews, leaving aircraft at the airport on Sunday night for Monday morning commutes, and limiting the use of noisier and larger aircraft during early mornings and late evenings. “There’s a lot we can do with curfews, altitudes, and routes,” Wiesenthal said. “But the town needs to engage.”

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

East Hampton Closure and Conversion Delayed until May

East Hampton, New York city officials and FAA try to resolve issues related to making KTHO a private-use airport. 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Hanneke Weitering

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

Electric aircraft and ground vehicles can now charge at KBAF in western Massachusetts

Atlantic and Beta Add Aircraft Chargers in Massachusetts

Curt Epstein

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Airport ground vehicles create a memorable holiday light display

Czech Airport Lights Up with Holiday Spirit

Matt Thurber

ADS-B and computer vision enables system to detect landing and on-runway traffic

Purdue Polytechnic Patenting Runway Status Lights 

Galesburg Regional Airport will be renamed for a hometown aviation legend

Illinois Airport To Honor Local Aviator, FBO Operator

AmyWilder

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

New operator plans upgrades and eVTOL integration

New Operator, Upgrade for Downtown Manhattan Heliport

KTPF accepts night flights for the first time since September

Tampa GA Airport Now Fully Operational after Storms

Peter Shaw-Smith

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

Local company ASM is discussing new aircraft management opportunities

Low-cost Carrier Migration Could Ease Bizav Access in Dubai

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Airports