NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 12, 2009

     State Airports May Benefit from Massive Economic Stimulus Package

OKLAHOMA CITY – Capital projects planned for some of Oklahoma’s public
airports may be placed on a fast track to completion if Congress and
President-elect Barack Obama approve a massive economic stimulus package,
state aviation officials announced.

Officials with the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission said that if the
stimulus package is approved as expected, the state could receive an
additional $30-$40 million in federal funds in fiscal year 2009 and 2010
for Oklahoma’s general aviation airports. The state typically receives an
average of $9-$12 million.

“This injection of federal money, along with state funding which the
Commission is again seeking from the state Legislature this spring through
the Regional Business Airport Modernization Program, would allow us to make
much-needed improvements to the state’s air transportation system over a
two-to five-year period instead of 10 to 15 years,” said Victor Bird,
director of the Aeronautics Commission.

“It will also have the effect sought by President-elect Obama because for
every $1 billion spent on airport infrastructure projects, 35,000 jobs are
created in our economy,” added Bird.

The Commission has already submitted a detailed list of eligible airport
projects to the Federal Aviation Administration in response to a request
from FAA officials last month. In order to be eligible for the federal
funds, the projects’ design and bid phases must be completed by mid-April.
Every project turned in to the FAA from Oklahoma is already in the design
phase, Bird said.

“It’s been a really quick turnaround from the point when we originally got
the call from the FAA and when we turned in the list of eligible airport
projects. As soon as the economic package is approved, we have about $40
million worth of airport projects that are ready to go,” Bird said.

“This is truly a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the state and local
communities to make these critical improvements to our airports in an
incredibly short time frame. Those improvements will help make our airports
safer and more accommodating for the thousands of individuals and business
travelers who use our airports throughout the year.”

Bird noted that all of the projects on the list involve some sort of runway
or taxiway construction or rehabilitation, projects the FAA considers high
priority and would therefore compete very favorably for those federal
dollars.

During initial discussions with the FAA, Commission officials heard that
the federal agency would receive anywhere from $500 to $600 million more in
federal funds in FY 2009 for its Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which
provides grants for capital improvements at public airports. Bird said the
FAA could now possibly receive $1-$2.5 billion more in AIP funds for this
year alone plus another $2-$2.5 billion in FY 2010. Those figures are over
and above the $3.6 billion in AIP funds the FAA should receive during each
of the next two years.

“Something of this magnitude doesn’t come around very often, so we really
need to take advantage of it while we can and complete these airport
projects in a very timely and efficient manner,” Bird said. “We certainly
don’t want to leave any money on the table.”

Besides the 111 general aviation airports, Oklahoma’s three commercial
airports that provide scheduled passenger airline service—Oklahoma City’s
Will Rogers World Airport, Tulsa International Airport and the Lawton-Fort
Sill Regional Airport—could also see more federal money as a result of the
economic stimulus package. Airport officials have indicated that they have
requested an additional $13 million for projects at those airports.

Oklahoma’s 114 publicly owned airports puts the state fourth in the nation
for the number of public airports per capita. A total of 41 of those
airports are jet capable, meaning their runways are at least 5,000 feet
long, the minimum distance needed by most jet aircraft to safely land or
take off. Approximately 93 percent of the state’s population lives within
25 miles of an airport with a jet-capable runway.