Federal Stimulus Funds Keep Sonoma County Airport Operations, Expansion on Track

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The long-awaited expansion of Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport is still very much on track, despite disruptions in service and passenger volume caused by the coronavirus emergency.

In fact, airport manager Jon Stout says that with less airport congestion and essential federal funding now consolidated, the planned date of final completion has actually been moved up by 6 months, to the first quarter of 2022.

On Tuesday the airport manager received word that Sonoma County Airport would receive up to $19.6 million out of a $10 billion federal pool of CARES Act stimulus funds designed to keep airports operating, and employees paid. That package also contains money for capital projects. Stout says that funding, a larger chunk than expected, will insure that the airport will be able to keep its 20 employees paid and operations going through the end of the year.

Since the coronavirus emergency began, Sonoma County Airport has seen passenger volume plummet, with less than 400 travelers passing through the airport since April 1st. That’s an average just over 20 per day. Currently Alaska is operating three flights a day, United one flight to San Francisco, and American 3 flights a day with some of that service operating on a day-by day-basis.

Meantime, the nation’s airlines are also receiving stimulus help in the form of a $25 billion grant program to retain and pay employees through September 30th, as well as a loan program designed to help airlines pay rents, continue operating and maintain equipment.

As a condition of receiving that federal money, airlines are required to maintain at least some service to all airports they were serving on March 1st, and once the crisis ends, to restore additional service to those same airports, based on March 1st levels.

Stout told News of the North Bay that the almost $20 milllion in stimulus funds will insure that the airport can maintain operations, and keep expansion plans on track.