SALISBURY, Md.- The Salisbury Airport will lengthen it's runway, thanks to federal funding. Airport manager Tony Rudy explained that a longer runway will allow for more destination flights in addition to Philadelphia and Charlotte. Rudy said longer flights are heavier because they carry more fuel, and heavier aircraft need a longer runway to lift off. Thus, with a longer runway, you could take longer flights to farther destinations out of Salisbury. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said this will enhance the economy of the community.
"Business men and women they'll be able to get on more flights more quickly if there are families trying to get away and visit some other place the same thing so it just connects Salisbury even more closely with the rest of the country and the rest of the world", said Van Hollen. "The more air traffic we can bring in here, the more people visiting, able to connect to other places, the more thriving the community becomes. So by extending the length of the runway, they're going to be able to get more flights in here they're going to be able to get more flights in here and more flights means more commerce and more commerce means more investment in the community".
Piedmont Airlines CEO and President Eric Morgan says lengthening the runway will fix a problem at Salisbury Airport.
"Today we are limited on what we can do here based on the length of the runway. We are frequently restricted on the number of passengers we can carry especially to Charlotte our most popular destination," said Morgan.
Airport manager Tony Rudy is eager to fix this issue.
"Right now they're flying fifty seat aircraft. And there are times when they would have to restrict the number of passengers to 40 so obviously that cuts into their profit margin," said Rudy.
Rudy says construction on the runway should start next summer. The airport is also designing covered ramps from the airport to the plane.