Mexico’s return to the highest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety level is likely to aid the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s efforts to lure additional traffic to and from the U.S.’s neighbor to its south.
Dividends already are being reaped, as Aeromexico has announced plans to bring daily service from Mexico City to Washington Dulles International Airport starting next year.
The announcement marks “a great step forward” in the effort to connect with Mexico and its 130 million citizens, authority board chair William Sudow (Virginia) said at the board’s Oct. 18 meeting.
“It’s an expanding market opportunity,” Sudow said.
The FAA had downgraded Mexico’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating to Category 2 in May 2021 after finding the country did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards. This September, the agency returned Mexico’s aviation-safety rating to the highest level following more than two years of close work between the civil-aviation authorities in both countries.
With a return to Category 1 status, Mexico can add new service and routes to the U.S., and U.S. airlines can resume marketing and selling tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights.
Chryssa Westerlund, the airports authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer, told board members staff believed Aeromexico’s arrival will spur both new service and expansion of existing service to Mexico. That was music to the ears of authority board member Walter Tejada (Virginia).
“It benefits the entire region,” Tejada said. “It’s actually good for the bottom line.”
As part of a broader effort to recruit international service, staffers from the airports authority recently spent a week in Istanbul, holding 70 meetings with airlines from across the globe during a trade show.
Airports’ Parking Facilities Handling Passenger Upticks: The upcoming holiday season may put things to the test, but parking spaces at Northern Virginia’s two commercial airports so far this year have been able to accommodate the post-COVID passenger surge.
Parking facilities at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport are filling at a solid rate, said Chryssa Westerlund, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
But they are doing so without requiring travelers to scramble for other options.
“Some weekends, we’re hitting over 90 percent of utilization,” Westerlund toldauthority board members on Oct. 18. During off-peak times, facilities often are 70-percent filled, she said.
One challenge has been at the surface parking lot immediately in front of Washington Dulles International Airport. It’s such a desirable spot, especially for those waiting to pick up passengers and willing to pay $6 per hour for the privilege, that sometimes getting a space can be tricky.
(Indeed: While the Oct. 18 meeting was taking place, an online check showed that lot 94-percent filled, with just 116 of the 2,022 spaces available.)
Westerlund said airport officials are always considering whether to adjust parking prices at individual lots or garages up or down to balance supply and demand. At this point, however, “we’re feeling pretty good” about the balance, she said.
Dulles has more than 20,000 parking spaces, with Reagan National offering nearly 10,000. As the Thanksgiving-through-New-Year’s travel surge gets closer, authority officials are likely to again encourage travelers to reserve parking spaces online in advance, or to consider alternate means of getting to and from the airports.
Repaving at National on Track for Winter Break: With colder weather about to call a halt to operations, repaving work on major runways at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is where it needs to be to get things wrapped up next spring.
That’s according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority president/CEO Jack Potter, briefing members of the authority’s board on Oct. 18.
Work began earlier in the year and the results have been “very, very impressive,” Potter said, noting the more than 90,000 tons of asphalt have been used to date to repave 1.7 million square feet of runway. That’s about halfway toward completion, he said.
Because of the ongoing work, National has had a nightly curfew on aircraft movements beginning at 11 p.m. Any flights that couldn’t meet the deadline owing to unanticipated delays faced either cancellation or diversion to other airports in order to accommodate the rigid repaving schedule.
The 2023 work has included placing 8 inches of new asphalt on the airport’s main runway (designated 1-19) and a secondary runway (15-33), as well as the intersection of 1-19 with the airport’s third runway (4-22). When the project recommences in 2024, another 2 inches will be added.
The foundation, dating back to the early 1940s, does not need to be touched as it remains in good shape, authority officials say.
Contract Awarded for Road Salt at Dulles: Keeping roadways accessible in winter can be a pricey endeavor. Just ask the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Authority board members on Oct. 18 awarded Eastern Salt Co. the contract to provide sodium chloride – known to its close friends as salt – for use in future snow-and-ice-removal efforts on roadways at Washington Dulles International Airport and on the Dulles Toll Road.
The initial two-year contract includes $920,000 for airport facilities and $736,000 for the toll road. Counting three one-year option periods baked into the contract, the total award could be worth about $4.3 million.
Under questioning from authority board member Walter Tejada (Virginia) on environmental impacts, staff said the materials they use are the same caliber as those laid on roadways by the Virginia Department of Transportation and other local transportation agencies.
That was about the sum total of comments before approval of the contract, although board member Kate Hanley (Virginia), who was chairing the committee meeting where it was discussed, said she was hopeful for some “salty discussion.”
