Central Valley Regional Airport? Could happen, Stockton Metro director says in Modesto
His strategic plan for Stockton Metropolitan Airport will mean increased commercial flights and cargo operations, an improved passenger experience and jobs, Airport Director Russell Stark told a Modesto audience Wednesday morning. Basically, he sees it as the regional air travel hub, and he found agreement among many of those listening.
Stark made his presentation to the Modesto Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee as part of an effort to forge a partnership between the San Joaquin County facility and community leaders here in Stanislaus County. Also at the meeting were Modesto and county officials and a representative for Rep. Josh Harder.
Currently, SMA offers regular service to Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix through Allegiant Air. In August, the airport will add two daily flights each day of the week to Los Angeles through United Airlines.
SMA also has a cargo carrier client, which Stark said a confidentiality agreement forbids him from naming. But photos of planes sitting on the tarmac indicate it’s Amazon’s Prime Air.
His strategic plan for the airport includes three primary goals, he said:
- Bring in more domestic service routes, whether by bringing on other carriers or adding destinations with current carriers.
- Increasing cargo capacity, which means more revenue for the airport and San Joaquin County and more regional jobs.
- Improving the aging infrastructure, and improving the passenger experience, with a brand new terminal being “the big thing.”
That terminal will be about 60,000 square feet, with four gates and the ability to add a fifth. The project now is beginning its environmental process, which Stark said will take 18 months to two years. One two-story plan and a couple of one-story plans are being considered.
An addition he envisions as being “way out” in the future would be a Federal Inspection Service station for international traffic. “This might be an international arrival terminal so passengers can go through customs,” he said. It would be a costly project, a $25 million facility that the airport would have to shoulder, then an annual payroll of about $1 million for customs agents.
There’s no amount of passenger traffic the airport could generate that would recoup that $1 million a year, Stark said. And international cargo traffic is seeing a small decline of late, he said.
So for now, he’s waiting to see how United’s flights to LAX do. About 42 percent of the Stockton airport’s passenger population is Latino, he said, and those traveling to Los Angeles and then catching a flight into Mexico would simply use customs at LAX.
A brighter prospect is the win-win situation the flights from Stockton to Los Angeles could mean for San Francisco International Airport and for Valley travelers. Through United, Stark said, Stockton Metro has been able to form a “great working relationship” with SFO.
“If we can keep some passengers from SFO, it reduces their parking problem and the number of smaller jets flying in and out,” he said. “They want the big boys. They want the international travel.”
The second thing the flights can do is get some travelers off the Altamont Pass and Interstate 580, he said.
Every year, Stockton Metro loses 5.5 million PDEWs — “what we call passenger departures each way” — to surrounding airports, Stark told his audience. The airport’s “catchment” area extends east to the foothills, north about halfway between Stockton and Sacramento, west to about Livermore and south to Merced. That’s the region from which it expects to draw travelers, he said.
“Our goal is to regain 10 percent of that, eventually, and keep that money in the region” Stark said.
Turning to cargo operations, the airport director said the size of the cargo ramp is being doubled, which will allow eight 767 aircraft to operate simultaneously if needed. Currently, between three and five planes are operating daily, he said. “What does that (expansion) mean for our region? It means jobs,” Stark said.
Negotiations are underway to build a larger, more permanent cargo facility at the airport, which would mean more planes coming in, more tractor-trailers coming in, and more product, he said.
His ultimate goal is to have a cargo facility of up to 600,000 square feet on the grounds, which could create 1,000 jobs. “That’s why we’re working so hard on it.”
Along with the improvements to service and infrastructure, especially the new terminal, will come more aggressive marketing and a rebranding of the airport, Stark said. A few people in the crowd suggested changing the name to one that includes the words “Central Valley,” and the airport director seemed to agree:
“If we’re going to change the name, it’s going to be something like Central Valley Regional. In three to five years when we open the new terminal, we may have a name change.”
City Councilwoman Jenny Kenoyer told Stark that she knows there are some associated with the Modesto Airport who still think it can and should have its own commercial service, but “we need to be part of you to make it a success.”
Chamber committee member Chris Murphy said the demand for service is here, and “I’d like to see our chamber and our city really jump behind this and have it truly be a regional airport.”
And City Councilman Doug Ridenour, who has a seat on the Airport Advisory Committee to the city, told Stark that some on that committee are in the airport business and have “differences in opinion from Stockton” that go back years. He said that to really go forward with a partnership to make Stockton our regional airport, it’s important to get those committee members involved, and he offered his help to do so.
For more on Stockton Metropolitan Airport, go to flystockton.com.
This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 3:56 PM.
