Plans for a long-awaited major improvement at Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport received a preliminary go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA gave preliminary conceptual approval for a 1,000-foot runway extension at the North Clarendon airport that would extend the main runway to 6,000 feet. The extension was contained in the airport's master plan.

News of the approval was announced Thursday evening at the conclusion of the annual legislative issues meeting hosted by the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce and Rutland Economic Development Corp.

Extension of the main runway is considered by many in the business community as critical to the airport's future.

Peter Fisk told the gathering of chamber members and legislators that the airport needed to extend the runway to accommodate future traffic and that at 6,000 feet the runway "opens up a huge economic opportunity."

However, obtaining the preliminary approval wasn't easy, said Fisk, a private pilot and a member of the Rutland Region Transportation Council.

He said the FAA had repeatedly indicated that a runway extension was out of the question but that began to change when the Rutland State Airport was renamed.

"Maybe it was fortuitous a few years ago we renamed the airport the Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport," Fisk said, "because the business community up and down the valley as far south as south of Manchester … over the hill to Ludlow and Okemo wrote letters of support for the recommendation to extend the runway to 6,000 feet."

The FAA's preliminary approval clears a major hurdle but final approval and funding remains far from certain for a project estimated to cost between $30 million and $50 million. While giving conceptual approval to a 1,000-foot extension, the FAA said in its letter dated Oct. 21, that based on projected future traffic, funding could only be justified at the present time for a 500-foot extension.

Related to the runway extension is an FAA requirement that by 2015 all airports establish a safety zone at both ends of a runway for emergencies. Fisk said that since the FAA is paying for the runway safety improvement it makes sense to couple that with the 1,000-foot extension instead of doing it piecemeal, 500 feet at a time.

If Rutland is going to extend its runway and meet the new safety mandate, Fisk said the planning process needs to start immediately.

He asked lawmakers to support funding for a preliminary engineering study when the Legislature takes up the new transportation budget next year. Fisk offered no cost estimate for the study.

Extending the runway involves relocating the road to the airport and extending the runway itself across Route 103, which would be rerouted.

Fisk said in an interview following the meeting that he's hoping the federal government will pick up 90 percent of the cost of the project.

Thomas Donahue, executive vice president of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce, said prior to the meeting that extending the runway will allow the airport to attract larger charter aircraft and private planes. "If you're not long enough, you can't compete," he said.

Donahue also noted that in addition to coming up with funding, the project will also have to pass environmental muster.

bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com