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From Native News Online staff
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A Navajo-owned airport received $8.1 million to upgrade its runway. Chinle Airport’s runway was once full of potholes and cracks and was recently repaved.
The surface of the “renovated” runway was a danger for aircraft landing on it. Now landings are smoother and safer.
Chinle Airport has approximately 1,200 landings per year. Many of the flights to and from the airport are critical medical emergency flights carrying valuable human cargo.
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“Many of us are familiar with the challenges facing rural areas of the Navajo Nation, particularly when it comes to access to healthcare,” said Buu Nygren, President of the Navajo Nation. “In critical situations where air transportation is necessary, it has been nearly impossible due to the old runway conditions.”
The runway and its medical flights support the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility. The newly paved runway will improve access to health care facilities outside of the Navajo Nation for years to come.
President Nygren said the modernization will bring much-needed efficiency and safety for pilots and patients during landing and takeoff. The so-called refurbishment repaired numerous potholes, cracks and damage to the point where it was no longer safe, he said.
“We are excited about the renovations at Chinle Airport,” said Mike Brown, regional director of business development for Eagle Air Med, which has used the airport for years.
Kevin Martan, deputy chief pilot of Eagle Air Med’s fixed-wing operations, said his company has been working with local healthcare providers in the Chinle region for more than 30 years.
“After the renovation, Chinle’s runway is smooth, clean and fully usable,” Martan said. “It’s a night and day difference. The extended surface has created better landing conditions for our fixed-wing aircraft.”
The rehabilitation project was an infrastructure priority for President Nygren and was completed in just 120 days between March and July by contractor Sunland Asphalt and Construction, LLC.
Funding for the project came from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Navajo Division of Transportation.
NDOT Director Tom Platero said he was pleased that Sunland Asphalt and Construction made a point of hiring local residents as workers.
The completion of the project will end a twenty-year search to secure funding and restore the important airport to the best possible condition. Repavement of a runway typically takes between eight and twelve years.
Chinle Airport is one of five airports owned and operated by the Navajo Nation.
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