Occasionally airports require repairs, though it’s rare that this causes airports to shut down completely. Sometimes at major airports runway repairs are needed, and in this case they may close one runway for some amount of time, causing airlines to temporarily reduce their schedules (we’ve seen this in Colombo and Dubai, for example)
St. George Regional Airport in Utah is having some major issues with their runway, and will be closing for nearly four months next year. St. George Airport will be closed between April 25 and August 21, 2019.
The airport currently has service from the regional carriers of American, Delta, and United, and Allegiant will start service there later this year.
So, what’s causing the airport closure? The airport’s runway requires a major structural repair. 5,400 linear feet of the runway will need to be excavated and replaced as a result of water entering the soil underneath it, damaging the existing runway pavement.
The project is expected to take around 120 days, and cost around $27 million. About $25 million of that will be paid through a grant from the FAA, while the city will pay about $2 million of the cost, which will be funded through the airport’s passenger facility charges.
What’s perhaps craziest about this is that the airport isn’t very old. The current airport only opened in 2011, so you’d think the runway wouldn’t need repairs that quickly.
St. George is a popular airport to fly into for those visiting Zion National Park. The good news is that Las Vegas McCarran International Airport is only about 100 miles from St. George, so while it’s not ideal, a two hour drive between airports isn’t that bad.
Interestingly as of the time of this post, United seems to be the only airline that got the memo about the airport closing. They’ve zeroed out flights during the airport closure period. American and Delta, on the other hand, continue to sell flights for the dates where the airport is expected to be closed.
Will anyone be impacted by this St. George Airport closure?
(Tip of the hat to St. George News)
yall should just fly with Allegiant coming back in sept to Rival Skywest. bigger plane more seats is what you wiol get with the new A320. great company to fly with!
FYI The closing dates reported are incorrect. The airport is scheduled to close fro 5/29/19-9/25/19.
St George Airport is just a rip off. We fly out from Las Vegas. Plus the flights are limited to say the least. No major jets can land there I guess they screw up the run way for them to land there. To thin?
This'll make Skywest the only airline in the world (that I know of, at least) that doesn't serve the city its headquarters is in, if only briefly.
Not that they fly to that many cities anyway, they used to fly to more destinations from St. George when they had the Metroliners and Brazilias. Waiting for a flight at LAS once I got to hear a Skywest dispatcher have an argument with someone on a radio about offloading golf clubs because the plane was overweight.
Check out this article on the old SGU - it was built on top of a mesa in the center of town and is a fascinating place to visit if you are ever in the area! I have used the new SGU airport quite a bit for GA and I am shocked that the airport needs to close down for four whole months - I think the community really depends on that airport for access...
Check out this article on the old SGU - it was built on top of a mesa in the center of town and is a fascinating place to visit if you are ever in the area! I have used the new SGU airport quite a bit for GA and I am shocked that the airport needs to close down for four whole months - I think the community really depends on that airport for access out as it is mostly older, upper middle-class families in the area who enjoy the convenience of taking regional jets to hubs rather than driving a couple hours down to McCarran or an hour north to Cedar City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_Municipal_Airport
@eskimo Thanks, maybe right. Either way I’d be looking at who planned the runway and why it needed closing and $27M spending on it only a few years after construction due to an issue with water. Oh dear.
Unless you are flying from a hub, you would need to connect anyway. If that is the case and you need a rental car, you are much better flying into LAS (much cheaper rental rates, at least there used to be). Not only that, the drive is really beautiful! I did it years ago and it was really nice!
yes agree. UA seems to be selling tickets DEN-SGU throughout the period. Checked random dates in april, may, june and july.
UA is still selling tickets in to SGU. Check your facts.
@Jamie
Due to "water entering the soil underneath it". I would say the negligent party might be the airport themselves.
CDC is the original gateway to the parks, but way less daily flights than SGU. You’ll be driving anyway though so getting the car in Vegas can still save time. Connection times can be horrendous. It’s my hometown.
Try the Cedar City Airport CDC about 40 miles north and can be reached via SLC on Delta Skywest. Airfares and car rentals are cheaper than SGU.
$27 M “ repair “ 8 years after construction........ I’d be suing the original contractor for negligence and loss of income
Hmmm...Wondering what effect this will have on Skywest.