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AOPA ePilot Volume 7, Issue 2 January 14, 2005
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BOYER BLASTS AIRPORT MANAGER FOR PRAISING MEIGS DEMISE
Did you think you'd ever hear someone in general aviation singing the
praises of Meigs-killer Mayor Richard Daley? Believe it. In a January
11 "Chicago Tribune" story, the manager of Lansing Municipal Airport
in Lansing, Illinois, was quoted as saying, "I want to thank Mayor
Daley for tearing down his airport." AOPA President Phil Boyer
responded with a letter blasting Airport Manager Robert Malkas. "I am
at a loss for words to express my complete incredulity," Boyer wrote.
"How absolutely ludicrous to refer to the aviation tragedy of Meigs
Field in such a manner, much less celebrate its demise because of your
airport's gain." Boyer went on to point out that AOPA did everything
it could to save Meigs. Out of the battle came such innovations as the
AOPA Airport Support Network (
http://www.aopa.org/asn ) and the
"Meigs Legacy" provision that provides for hefty fines for anyone who
closes an airport or runway without giving the required notice. For
more see AOPA Online
(
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...0113meigs.html ).