Waterloo Regional Airport Board hopes federal aid is enough – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

Airport board members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a staff recommendation that $300,000 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act approved for the airport last month is earmarked to offset operating losses.

While the remaining grant funds have tentatively been slated to pay for capital projects and equipment at the airport, board members urged staff to hold off on those purchases in case additional operating support is needed.

“I think it would be prudent to make sure we understand the financial situation of the whole thing versus launching into a bunch of new projects,” said board member Charles Needham.

Board member Arlene Humble added, “Don’t you think we should put things on pause before we start moving forward on anything for at least a couple of months, just to see where we’re at?”

The Waterloo Regional Airport has seen an 86 percent dip in passenger bookings since the COVID-19 outbreak erupted in March, which is worse than the 50 percent drop in travel reported nationally.

The situation significantly slashed airline and airport revenues, which prompted support from Congress through the CARES Act.

“Revenue’s going down all the way around,” said board member Scott Voigt. “We’re not getting fuel sales. That’s hurting us. We’re not getting passengers. That’s hurting us. We’re getting reduced parking revenue.”

While board members voiced concerns about spending any of the CARES Act grant on capital projects or equipment now, Airport Director Keith Kaspari said the airport has four full years to spend the money and could reallocate the funds to cover operating costs if the initial $300,000 “financial backstop” isn’t sufficient.

“We can hold things off until we’re more confident the economy will rebound as we move forward in the months ahead,” Kaspari said. “It’s not like we need to get all of this work done in a year or two.”

The pandemic also has been hard on Livingston Aviation, a fixed-base operator at the Waterloo airport that provides general aviation services.

“Overall our business is down roughly 80 percent,” said Tim Newton, Livingston Aviation’s general manager.

Board members approved a request from Newton to reduce his rent significantly over the next six months and defer the repayment by increasing rent in the latter years of the current lease.