Speech

Hartsfield Grant Announcement

Good morning.

Lots of people out there call Hartsfield the workhorse of America’s airports. And let me tell you, that one fits like a glove. Today, we’re going to add a little more horsepower.

But first, there’s no question that the improvements that have taken place are paying off in spades.

Runway number five is a year old this month, and it’s resulted in 100,000 more takeoffs and landings in that span.

That boils down to between 200 and 300 a day. That’s huge, especially when you consider the sheer volume of planes that pass through here at any given hour.

Total price tag for all of this? One point three billion.

The taxiway? That came in at $42 million. But don’t let all these dollar signs fool you. This is all money well-spent — what I call an investment in the future.

Take a bow, Atlanta. You should be proud of the way you stepped up to the plate the way you did.

The city realized it needed to do something about the looming capacity crunch, and man, did it ever.

But now the bill is due, and I’m pleased to announce that the FAA is providing more than $40 million to the cause. Here’s how the money breaks down.

Eighteen point three million is for the new runway. It’s the latest in a series of payments that began back in 2000, and will continue to about 2011.

Seven million dollars will go for the taxiway. It’s hard to argue against shelling out that kind of money for a three-quarter mile strip when you see how it’s improving efficiency, saving passengers time and trimming fuel costs.

Finally, the remaining portion of the grant — $15.1 million — is part of our national effort to improve runway safety areas — RSAs that don’t meet current standards.

Let me give you an example of what we plan to do here. You’ll notice that at the end of the runway, the terrain isn’t as flat and smooth as it should be.

So some of this grant money will build a retaining wall, 1,300 feet long and 30 feet high. It almost looks like a dam. We’re going to pat down some dirt inside the wall so that we’ll have a nice, level safety area.

We’re also going to do some rehab work to the apron, replacing concrete slabs that are more than 20 years old. And truth be told, they’re showing their age.

As the slabs get older, they leave behind debris. It has the potential to damage aircraft and cause all sorts of other problems.

This is a safety issue all the way around, because the apron has to be constantly swept and cleared. You finally reach a point where enough is enough, and well, that time has come.

The apron rehab is a fairly simple procedure that should take no more than a year. But it all points back to what I said before about the importance of being prepared. That’s Hartsfield.

So let me wrap up with is. Today is a $40 million investment in safety and capacity. It’s money well spent, and it’s the right place to spend it. And now I’d like to turn things over to Mike Diaz, the deputy general manager here at Hartsfield. Mike …