Ruston Airport

Ben Humphries, chairman of the Ruston Airport Authority, stated that Ruston Airport is the second busiest in the state??? Is that true?


Grant backs airport lights
Laura Bond, Reporter
10-15-2007

http://www.rustonleader.com/images/stories/3165.jpg

When hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the power outages that followed, were felt throughout Louisiana, the need for generators at Ruston Regional Airport became more apparent.

During the last Ruston City Council meeting, the aldermen authorized the city to enter into an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development for improvements to the airport.

This cleared the way for the airport to obtain a $35,000 grant from the DOTD aviation division to purchase and install a generator that would keep the terminal building up and running in the case of power outages. read more

....Humphries said the Ruston airport is the second busiest in the state, due mainly to its usage by the Louisiana Tech University aviation program....

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Originally Posted by qng001

Ben Humphries, chairman of the Ruston Airport Authority, stated that Ruston Airport is the second busiest in the state??? Is that true?

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I don't think so. It may be (and probably is) the second busiest GA airport in the state. Ruston averages about 235 operations a day, compared to Monroe's 150. But Baton Rouge Metro averages 260, Lafayette 313, New Orleans Lakefront pre-Katrina was 279 (and is getting back there), and NO Intl. is 321 a day.

To compare with similar airports, Auburn, AL has 179 a day (although the figure is outdated a little -- and it's gotten much busier in the past few years), and Purdue University Airport in Lafayette, IN has 315 operations per day.

Since he's measuring it by take-offs and landings then yeah they should be pretty busy being the only aviation program in the state.

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Originally Posted by GermDawg

Since he's measuring it by take-offs and landings then yeah they should be pretty busy being the only aviation program in the state.

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It would have to be due to this.

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Originally Posted by GermDawg

Since he's measuring it by take-offs and landings then yeah they should be pretty busy being the only aviation program in the state.

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Back in the 70s when Tech Aviation was at its height, it was said Ruston's airport was the busiest in the country in terms of take-off and landings.

A good excuse to expand/lengthen the runway for our larger BCS D1 football opponents to fly right into Ruston. With the help of state money of course.:D

I hear another 1,000 of runway is approved and will be added in years to come, not sure when. That bumps it up to 6,000 feet, but I hear they are pushing to extend to 7,000ft to get a Boeing 737 in there. (good for our sports teams so they wont have to go to Shv or Monroe to fly charter.

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Originally Posted by Junky

I hear another 1,000 of runway is approved and will be added in years to come, not sure when. That bumps it up to 6,000 feet, but I hear they are pushing to extend to 7,000ft to get a Boeing 737 in there. (good for our sports teams so they wont have to go to Shv or Monroe to fly charter.

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Tech would be buying planes that size?:shocked2:

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Originally Posted by Rus-La

Tech would be buying planes that size?:shocked2:

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It's called charter

It would make it easier on travel, instead of bussing it to Monroe or Shv, I'd take it.

I'm all for that! It would be the only smart thing to do is to have your charter come and go from Ruston if you can. Here is the problem...SECURITY. If I'm not mistaken every plane must go through basically the same "checking" procedures which means that Ruston would have to have all of the proper screening machinery and personel to check every person that boarded the plane; be it a charter or not. This would be the problem whether the runway was long enough or not.

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Originally Posted by BulldawgBB

I'm all for that! It would be the only smart thing to do is to have your charter come and go from Ruston if you can. Here is the problem...SECURITY. If I'm not mistaken every plane must go through basically the same "checking" procedures which means that Ruston would have to have all of the proper screening machinery and personel to check every person that boarded the plane; be it a charter or not. This would be the problem whether the runway was long enough or not.

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Security is not a problem (unless you forget your driver's license and your picture in the media guide don't count anymore).
I'm sure the TSA can operate in Ruston like they do at commercial airports.

The convenience is not having to bus to Shreveport.

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Originally Posted by Dawgpix

Security is not a problem (unless you forget your driver's license and your picture in the media guide don't count anymore).
I'm sure the TSA can operate in Ruston like they do at commercial airports.

The convenience is not having to bus to Shreveport.

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I'm sure that they can operate in Ruston with no problem. I just wonder if they would be doing that at no extra cost or if there would be increased fees associated with having them come to Ruston for this one flight every Friday before an away game. I mean it's a little different having them already set up in a bigger airport such as Monroe or Shreveport.

You're making this out to be a big deal and it ain't.
On the Cal and Fresno trips and other plane trips I've been fortunate to travel on, the TSA gauntlet is set up planeside on the tarmac (if it's not raining).
Give the TSA 3-4 tables and their magic wands and we're good to go within an hour after arriving.

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Originally Posted by Dawgpix

You're making this out to be a big deal and it ain't.
On the Cal and Fresno trips and other plane trips I've been fortunate to travel on, the TSA gauntlet is set up planeside on the tarmac (if it's not raining).
Give the TSA 3-4 tables and their magic wands and we're good to go within an hour after arriving.

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:thumbsup: Just curious. It only makes sense to fly out of Ruston if at all possible.