Portland Jetport plans nearly $5 million in improvements

The Portland International Jetport plans to spend nearly $5 million on upgrades to the passenger terminal building, parking garage and flight path over residential areas.

Jetport officials are seeking City Council approval to use $4.75 million in cash reserves for various maintenance and repair projects at Maine’s largest airport. They include a new terminal roof ($600,000), a security camera system ($800,000), gate lobby carpet ($300,000) and an outbound baggage handling system ($1.6 million).

In the parking garage, they plan to paint and fireproof structural steel on the lower level ($850,000) and upgrade the elevator equipment ($600,000).

The credit would come from the jetport’s unrestricted cash fund, which currently has $39.1 million, said Paul Bradbury, the airport’s director. It would have no impact on the city’s general budget or tax rate.

“During the pandemic, we postponed several projects due to reduced travel,” Bradbury said. “This will allow us to catch up.”

The funding request will be on the council’s agenda for a first reading on Monday. It requires a second reading at a future meeting.

The passenger terminal was built over decades, with the oldest part built in 1967 and the newest in 2012, Bradbury said.

“Several portions of the terminal building roof have reached (the end of) their service life and require replacement,” Bradbury said in a memo to the City Council. “The CCTV camera network and outbound baggage handling system are now more than twelve years old and require significant software, hardware and operating updates.”

The oldest parking garage at the jetport is now more than 20 years old, he said.

“The lower level structural steel requires removal and replacement of the existing fire barrier and application of a corrosion inhibitor paint,” he said. “This project will also address the water infiltration that has caused corrosion of the structural steel and damage to the existing fire barriers.”

Tackling AIRPLANE NOISE

Also at Monday’s 5 p.m. council meeting, Bradbury is requesting $75,000 in unrestricted funds to develop a new over-the-water approach to the airport that would address complaints about aircraft noise from residential areas.

The jetport’s Noise Advisory Committee, a standing committee of the council, has been developing a new approach procedure since 2022. At its Oct. 10 meeting, it voted to provide funding to formalize the procedure.

The new special instrument approach procedure allows aircraft to remain over Casco Bay and the Fore River when poor visibility, wind or traffic conditions require an approach from the east, Bradbury said. The new procedure would be available day and night and follow a very strict pattern of less than 0.3 nautical miles.

“This procedure will reduce the impact of aircraft noise over residential areas in South Portland and Peaks Island,” he said.

Instrument approach procedures show approved flight paths, navigation aids and other details needed to land safely at an airport when pilots must rely on their instrument panels, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Pilots access these procedures through aeronautical charts available electronically through flight management systems.

The proposed new approach procedure for the jetport would replace an existing procedure that is only available during daytime and in clear conditions with a minimum visibility of 4 miles, Bradbury said.

Furthermore, no currently available procedure meets the advisory committee’s goal of having a completely over-water approach available at all hours, he said.

Bradbury said the proposed procedure is fully consistent with the commission’s objective to “maximize overflight of compatible areas such as non-residential areas, commercial/industrial areas, the Fore River and the waters of Casco Bay.”

Under Bradbury’s proposal, the new procedure would be developed by Flight Tech Engineering of Englewood, Colorado, in coordination with Vianair’s aviation software.

It would be available within a year and initially be owned and maintained by the jetport, Bradbury said. It would likely become a public procedure enforced by the FAA in the future.

The financing application for the new approach procedure also requires a second reading at a subsequent meeting.

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