A sad day in Iowa City

With little warning (and even less fanfare) Runways 18 and 36 have been
closed
at the Iowa City Municipal Airport -- forever. As of this morning,
for the
first time since the 1930s, KIOW is a 2-runway airport.

The VOR 36 approach is therefore currently unavailable. According to
Airport
Specialist Mike Tharp, this approach will become a VOR Alpha
circle-to-land
approach at some point in the future.

This closure has been in the works for years (ever since the Airport
Commission
decided to carve out the North and South Aviation Commerce Parks, in a
thus-far
failed attempt to make the airport self-sufficient), but the deal has
always
been that the Rwy 7/25 extension would be completed BEFORE Rwy 18/36
was
closed.

The current airport commission decided that this agreement was not an
issue of
importance, and closed Rwy 18/36 with the Rwy 7/25 extension still over
a year
(at least) from completion. For decades, Rwy 36 was the runway of
choice for both
United and Ozark airlines, and it will be strange, indeed, to no longer
see aircraft
departing over downtown.

A long sequence of decisions, made over a period of years, has led us
directly
to today, and the loss of a critical piece of airport infrastructure.
Decisions
like these have hurt each and every Iowa City Airport user, and were
made
virtually behind closed doors by previous airport commissions. If
you've ever
wondered why we formed the "Friends of Iowa City Airport" advocacy
group, and
why FOICA members sacrifice their time each month to attend Commission
meetings, wonder no longer. Today, I'm proud to say, this could not
have
happened without a major uproar in the pilot community. Unfortunately,
FOICA
came too late to help save Rwy 18/36.

Today is truly a sad day in Iowa City airport history, and I can
personally
guarantee that when the winds are howling out of the North, there will
be many,
many days in the future when we will wish we had that runway back.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"