One of the people who will head that commission tasked with coming up with improvements to San Antonio's air service says several options are on the table, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The current San Antonio International is struggling with limited numbers of non stops and international fights, and more San Antonians are traveling to Austin Bergstrom Airport to catch flights which are frequently more numerous and lower prices.
Retiring north side Councilman Joe Krier, whose district includes the Airport, says one of the things the commission will be exploring is whether San Antonio can do exactly what Austin did with the old Bergstrom Air Force Base, and repurpose the old runways at Kelly Air Force Base, which are now being used by Port San Antonio, Air Force Reserve units, and Lackland AFB, into a new airport.
"I don't know whether all of the military runways will continue to be military, I hope they will, but if they aren't that may give us some opportunities, too," Krier said.
Krier spoke with us from Toronto, where he was celebrating the addition this week of Air Canada's direct service from San Antonio to Toronto, the first international non stop flight from San Antonio to a country other than Mexico.
Krier says the commission's job will be tough, because the goal is to make plans for 2040, which is about the time it would take to plan, obtain environmental clearance, and construct either improvements to the current airport or a new airport.
"I don't know whether we need to expand our current airport," he said. "A lot of that depends on what kind of planes people think will be flown by 2040."
And he says there is one major advantage to San Antonio International which would not be enjoyed by an airport anyplace else.
"One of our best assets as you well know is when you land at San Antonio International Airport, you are not more than twenty minutes from your house."
The Airport released a statement in response to the appointment of the commission:
San Antonio International Airport is not landlocked and has potential to grow. Development on our existing real estate has always been a part of our planning efforts.
· Infrastructure is clearly a part of the equation for air service, but the primary factor is validating a demand signal to airlines. The airlines are very sophisticated at network planning and we work intensely with them to advocate for air service where we have underserved or unserved markets.
· San Antonio has an 8% leakage to Austin-Bergstrom. The leakage or loss of business is attributed to various reasons.
· As a result of inclusive community involvement in the development of a 5-year air service development plan, SAT established a goal of 3.6% for air capacity growth in 2017. This mark was exceeded by 20% with the addition of new service or additional service by Air Canada, Frontier, American and Aeromexico.