4:00pm | The Long Beach Airport will receive a $2.2 million grant from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to upgrade the airplane parking area, referred to as an “apron,” outside the terminal. The grant will help make the apron upgrades needed to become more friendly to travelers and the environment.
The airport applied for the grant and expects to receive many more like it in the future as the process of upgrading the apron continues, said Long Beach Airport director Mario Rodriguez this afternoon.
“We are very happy to receive money from the Federal Government to rebuild our apron, make sure that it becomes more environmentally sound, and make sure that it’s safer and more welcoming for the general public,” Rodriguez said.
“We are actively pursuing grants and money to improve our facilities.”
The DOT Federal Aviation Administration grant will allow the airport to begin the next phase of upgrades to its apron, which must be done in sections to allow continuous flight activity. The new apron will be more walkable for customers and more environmentally friendly with the help of a ground power system similar to cold-ironing technology used for docked ships at the Port of Long Beach.
The new power facility will provide grounded aircraft with power before and after flights, so the plane can be air-conditioned and cooled by the Long Beach Airport’s power rather than mobile diesel generators that are currently commonplace.
A press release from Congresswoman Laura Richardson applauded the grant, and noted that it will provide improvements to approximately 14,000 square yards of the carrier apron.
“By replacing and repairing the airport’s aging infrastructure, this grant money will create immediate local construction jobs and it will help keep the airport in full operation as a local economic engine,” the Congresswoman said in a statement.
With plans in the works to upgrade the main terminal and the recent groundbreaking of a new parking structure, Rodriguez says the airport is headed in the right direction.
“We’re running this place a little bit more like a business,” he said. “Our main focus is to deliver above our customers’ expectations, and everything we do is based on that.”