Esterly: VIA’s growth rate is comparable to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

4 months ago 125

HARLINGEN, Texas – Marv Esterly, director of aviation at Valley International Airport, gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an in-depth interview during a recent news conference held to announce a new air traffic control tower.

Asked why the new air traffic control tower is important, Esterly said:

“It is so important to take us into the future. As you heard today, this airport is growing tremendously. We need to be prepared for that growth. So, air traffic control is a key point in that.”

Esterly pointed out that the current air traffic control tower at VIA was constructed in 1971.

“It’s a bit long in the tooth at this point. It doesn’t meet the new requirements. So, it’s going to be difficult for us to grow under this current air traffic control tower,” Esterly explained.

Asked if the new tower will improve operational capacity, Esterly said:

“It will definitely improve operational capacity. It will fix a lot of problems for a better environment for the controllers as well. There are issues with the current tower, namely the height, because the airport has actually grown. You can’t see certain pavement surfaces on the airport (from the current town). It’s important for the air traffic controllers to be able to see all those pavement surfaces. So, with this new tower it will actually be twice as tall. They’ll go from 44 feet to 85 feet to the cap height for a 122-feet total. So that’ll give the controllers a better visual sight of everything that’s happening on the runway, which is just a safer condition.”

In his remarks from the podium at the news conference, Esterly also spoke about an expansion of the runway at VIA.

“We’re really excited about that project. The expanded runway is scheduled to open on June 1. And with that runway expansion project comes new special Category Two instrument landing system approaches. These will actually lower the minimums for aircraft coming in here during inclement weather. And that would, in turn, allow for less delays and cancellations during inclement weather. So, we’re really excited about that.”

Esterly said the runway extension also provides additional length on the runway.

“That helps our air cargo, particularly our heavy, wide-bodied aircraft that come in here, both FedEx and DHL. So, it helps them their performance characteristics taking off out of here.”

Port of Entry designation

The keynote speaker at the press conference was U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. In his remarks, Gonzalez said user fees at VIA must end. He got a round of applause for saying that.

“I can tell you that Congressman Vincent Gonzalez, as well as (U.S.) Senator (Ted) Cruz and (U.S.) Senator (John) Cornyn have been instrumental in pushing for this project and getting these funds (for the new traffic control tower,” Esterly told the Guardian.

“It’s always important to have a team in everything we do. And we have a team here at Valley International Airport. We work really closely with our team up in the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), as well as our team in Washington and our representatives. So, everyone pitching together made this day possible.”

Sen. Cruz spoke at the press conference via a video hookup. He mentioned ports of entry designation for VIA and his, and his Fairness Act. Asked what these two things are about, Esterly said:

“That (the Fairness Act) is a really unique bill. We have been working both with our senators and our congressmen to push for fair shake along the border. We are the only airport along the entire southern border that is a commercial service airport that has user fees added, meaning we pay for U.S. Customs services here.” Esterly said.

“Other designated ports of entry along the entire southern border do not. So, it’s really important to us, and it’s important to them, to level that playing field so that we can compete to the international traffic realm, equally. (Having) a designated port of entry will actually lower our fees by about $600,000 a year that we currently pay U.S. Customs here.”

Esterly said the language Congressman Gonzalez has inserted into the FAA reauthorization bill has been approved.

“This will apply to airports for designated within 30 miles of border. Senator Cruz is pushing that same thing on the Senate side. So, we’re hopeful in the reconciliation of that reauthorization bill, that we remain in there and become a designated port of entry.”

Asked if having port of entry designation is important for VIA, Esterly said:

It’s a really big deal for the airport, not only for the funding that it will save. It will allow us to utilize those monies in other locations. But it also will help us grow and continue to support our growth.”

Two million passengers

Another speaker at the press conference was Tony Bryant, the Texas airport division office manager for the FAA. He said VIA has improved a lot in recent years and that he is very impressed. Esterly responded:

“Yes, Valley International Airport has grown significantly. When I got here in 2016, I believe we had 265,000 emplaned passengers, that is people getting on and off an aircraft. This last year, in 2023, we were at 508,000. And this year, we’re in record territory. We should hit 530,000 going forward. We are compared to Austin in the growth rate that we have.”

Bryant also said from the podium that VIA should no longer be considered a small hub. Esterly agreed.

“This airport has actually been a small airport for the last two years. Before that we were non-hub airport. And so that status has changed with all our growth to a small hub airport. That is a good thing. We’ll hit two million passengers, and we’ll go to the next level.”

Asked if there is anything else he would like to add, Esterly said:

“I would like to thank everyone, the community, all the community leaders, all of our surrounding communities that support Valley International Airport. South Padre Island, we love South Padre Island. It brings in our Midwest, Upper Miidwest people to the area. So, our close collaboration with them is so important. There are so many people to thank. I would be here all day. But yes, it’s totally a collaborative effort. And we’re excited to have such good partners.”