Recently Governor Laura Kelly signed House Bill 24-98, bipartisan legislation that increases investment in Kansas public airports, improving airport accessibility and safety. Kelly calls it a critical investment in the state’s aviation infrastructure ensuring our public use general aviation airports have the resources they need to thrive, enhance safety and support economic development. The bill triples the amount of funding from $3 to $15 million.
The Chairman of the Aviation Task Force for the Kansas Department of Transportation, Pat Schettler, is encouraging a bump in funding for smaller rural airports. He is the Garnett Industrial Airport Manager. Schettler says the big push is to improve air ambulance access to rural areas and allow quicker and less expensive ambulatory service to larger hospitals without relying on helicopter service.
Schettler was elected to the Kansas Airport Association Executive Board this year and was sworn in, in March. He says Garnett is by far the smallest airport represented on the Board and he hopes that once he gets up to speed, he will be able to get some results for smaller airports in Kansas.
