Considering a longer runway

The occasion was the Chamber’s Congressional Luncheon last Monday at the Westin Hotel – an event that drew 550 business and civic leaders.

The Chamber is lobbying hard for a longer runway at T.F. Green and Hagan took the opportunity of the luncheon to invite U.S. senators Jack Reed and Lincoln Chafee and U.S. representatives James Langevin and Patrick J. Kennedy to weigh in on the subject.

Only Chafee, the former mayor of Warwick, responded. He said that all involved in the issue must recognize “the importance of having a sensitivity to the neighbors in Warwick.”

Chafee’s concerns are legitimate ones. And the city of Warwick is right to tread cautiously when it comes to a bigger airport. There are quality of life issues, including traffic congestion and noise, that should not be ignored.

But Hagan raises an important issue.

Presently, there are discussions to expand the T.F. Green runway to 7,500 feet. But the Chamber – along with other business organizations – is pushing for an even longer extension of the runway – to at least 9,000 feet.

Proponents of the longer expansion point to an increasingly competitive market for air travel. For example, a runway expansion project at Manchester Airport in New Hampshire will extend its runway to 9,250 feet.

In addition, Southwest Airlines is adding non-stop destinations from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut and Jet Blue may bring its low-fare service to Boston’s Logan International Airport.

It is simply not prudent to put off a decision on what to do with the T.F. Green runway when these competitors are taking such an aggressive posture. T.F. Green has emerged as a Rhode Island jewel, a competitive advantage for us in attracting and retaining business.

Whether extending its runway to at least 9,000 feet will make a major difference in its success is a question that needs to be answered sooner, rather than later.