Flying Cloud Airport is cleared for expansion

Lengthening runways to better serve corporate jets at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie was approved Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration. Work is scheduled to begin around Aug. 1.

Larger, modern jets require a runway of 5,000 feet and the longest runway at the airport now is 3,900, said Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan.

After almost two decades of planning and discussion, the MAC is pleased to be able to move forward with the airport improvements, Hogan said.

However, Vicki Pellar-Price, a member of Eden Prairie's Zero Expansion group, said the decision will not be received well by area residents.

"There is no question that people are not happy," she said. "This is not a problem that is going to go away. Eventually there will be a lawsuit."

The additional aircraft will generate more noise, and that will lower property values. People will eventually move, Pellar-Price said. "Property values are already in the dumps, and we need an expanded airport to make that worse?"

In approving the expansion, the FAA said the MAC had completed the required environmental review and met grant requirements. Pellar-Price said the environmental review did not adequately address the noise impact.

Meanwhile, the south parallel runway will be extended by 1,100 feet. Bids for that work will be requested in January, with construction scheduled to start in the spring. Its completion is expected by the end of 2009, Hogan said.

The MAC expects the expansion will eventually increase the airport's takeoffs and landings from 230,000 in 2006 to about 300,000 per year by 2010.

Companies already using the airport will be the primary beneficiaries of the longer runways, Hogan said. "Currently, some jets there can't safely take off fully loaded due to the short runway length. That means they can't use aircraft to their full capacity: can't carry as many people, bags or cargo or can't fully fuel the aircraft before takeoff, limiting the distance they can fly without refueling."

The MAC has budgeted about $750,000 for the first runway project and expects to receive $150,000 in federal aid. The MAC has requested $9 million in federal aid for the second runway, estimated to cost $12 million, Hogan said.

Flying Cloud is one of six MAC general aviation airports and one of three primary reliever airports for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Hogan said.