Stockton airport looks to update 70-year-old air traffic control tower, add more flights
San Joaquin County submitted almost $19 million in funding requests to federal lawmakers, covering 10 projects throughout the county, including at Stockton Metropolitan Airport.
Out with the old, in with the new — it's what the Stockton airport is hoping for as it moves to replace its decades-old air traffic control tower to modernize the airport.
"The air traffic control tower behind me is about 70 years old and has seen better days," Richard Sokol, San Joaquin County airport director, said. "The air traffic control tower is the lifeblood of an airport, and we think it's time to update that lifeblood and provide us with a facility that's more contemporary, that's the proper location on the airport, and the proper height."
Among those funding requests is a $2.8 million grant application for the redevelopment of the air traffic control tower. The new tower would eliminate what Sokol calls "blind spots" for air traffic controllers, who see 55,000 takeoffs and landings along with around 80,000 passengers each year.
"This airport is the only commercial service airport within the county, and within 35 miles of our airport, our data says that there are 2,700 airline passengers that start a trip every day," Sokol said. "Right now, 95% of those passengers are driving to other airports because of the lack of seats here, and so we're trying to change that."
Sokol told CBS News Sacramento the county board authorized $26 million in local improvements to the airport, including general aviation hangars, fueling facilities, and their terminal, which he said is "way out of date."
"A lot of people from San Joaquin County commute to the Bay Area," Sonny Dhaliwal, San Joaquin County supervisor, said. "I have done it 74 miles one way. You name it, (I've) seen it. So we have to give people more options, attracting more jobs and what better than expanding the airport?"
Dhaliwal said the board and airport leadership are committed to expanding the airport and that they need more passenger and cargo services.
"Our commitment to the residents of this county is that we're going to do everything we can for the economic development of this county," Dhaliwal said. "And this is going to be helping us to attract more airlines and more cargo services."
San Joaquin County residents said they would welcome more runway for flight options on the Stockton airport runway so they don't have to commute to the Bay Area or Sacramento to catch their flight.
"It would be nice to have more locations to fly out of at this airport right here because I stay pretty close by," Kelly Udensi, Manteca resident, said. "It's pretty stressful going out to SF or Sacramento anytime you want to take a trip out to someplace that's a little bit more of a distance."
Udensi flew to Las Vegas to visit his friend and said improvements would save him, his family and his friends time and gas.
Currently, Stockton flies to Vegas and Phoenix with Allegiant Air, but Sokol said they're expecting to add airline services later this year and that Amazon Prime announced they will be adding more flights daily.
