Ceremonial dirt turned for Hays airport renovations

By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

Members of the Hays City Commission, SkyWest Airlines, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and other patrons continued the new era at the Hays Regional Airport with a Tuesday groundbreaking ceremony for terminal renovations.

One of the biggest renovations to the airport will be the construction of a new 50-passenger holding area, which will be expandable to 80. The improvement was included in order to accommodate SkyWest Airlines, the new essential air service provider at the airport. SkyWest, operating as United Express, uses 50-passenger Bombardier turbojets.

“We think SkyWest is an excellent carrier,” said I.D. Creech, director of Public Works. “They’re teamed up with United. … If you get on a plane here and land in Denver, you walk off on a skyway, you’re in the terminal, and once you start walking down the terminal, you start hitting all of the other gates that are associated with United.”

toby — Ellis County Administrator Greg Sund and Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty

There is currently a temporary wall that provides extra holding space at the airport. The new holding area will also feature a bathroom, which is not currently available once passengers enter the holding area. Other improvements include renovations to HVAC utilities, TSA and ticketing facilities, baggage claim areas, and some “spruce-ups” to the walls and floors of the lobby.

The estimated cost of the project is $1,3 million. Approximately $881,000 will be funded through a Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Project Grant. The city will cover the remaining $445,496, which will come from the Airport Improvement, Airport Operating and City Commission Financial Policies funds. In April, city commissioners awarded the construction bid to Paul Wertenberger Construction of Hays.

“The Kansas Department of Transportation estimated that our airport is worth approximately $24.5 million economically in Hays — it has that kind of an impact,” Creech said. “So if we can get people to fly in and out of here for recreational or business purposes, it adds a lot to the economy.”

Construction is scheduled to be complete by January.