The Maytag repairman would feel right at home at Las Cruces International Airport, America's quietest metropolitan airport.
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By Jeff Berg
There are plenty of things that you can do at the Las Cruces International Airport.
When you arrive at the facility, which is about nine miles or so west of Las Cruces, the first thing you may notice is that one of the pretty good-sized parking lots has some covered parking spots. You can park for free, and you don't need to cruise around or wait for a shuttle to come pick you up.
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Some days at the Las Cruces airport, not even the flag goes up. (Photo by Lisa D. Fryxell) |
Stepping inside the airport is like stepping back into the pre-9/11—heck, pre-Cuban hijacking—past. There are no TSA agents, no wands, no buzzers, no droning recorded voices, no guards with guns and dogs. There is no need to remove your shoes, no fear of a strip search, and you don't have to hide your probably subversive bottle of water before boarding a flight.
That's because there aren't any flights at this time. Because of its proximity to El Paso and that city's airport, Las Cruces may be the largest metropolitan area in America with no regularly scheduled commercial air service. Rio Grande Air lasted just a few months in Las Cruces in 2004 despite a $200,000 subsidy from the city, followed by an almost equally brief attempt by Westward Airways. The last commercial flight at Las Cruces International Airport was July 25, 2005.
So, what can you do at Las Cruces International Airport ("LCIA" for short, but "LRU" to air-traffic controllers), and what the heck makes it "international," anyway?
You can take flying lessons. You can perhaps land a job (how's that for a good pun?) at one of the small airplane-related industries located at the airport. You can view the few vintage planes that are scattered around the place, including a jet fighter that was used in Vietnam.
There is also a gang presence based here. Not the kind of "gang" that certainly raced through your head when your read that, but rather, the West End Gang, headed by Bo McCoy. These folks are into sports aviation, and build and maintain ultralight and sport-category aircraft, operating out of LCIA.
You can catch a pretty decent meal at the Crosswinds Cafe. According to Doug Newton, the manager of Adventure Aviation, which operates the small eatery, the airport cafe is working on a more upscale menu that, Newton says, eyes alight, "will soon include items using locally available products such as Hatch chile. You'll need to come back and try the Hatch Valley Hot Steak."
The previously lunch-only cafe will remain open on weekend evenings at first, with the hope of making it a destination spot for finer dining.
Also in the planning stages is a small gift shop, which will offer all things New Mexico.
If you are, say, an accident victim in one of the worst places to drive in the entire country (Las Cruces driving trumps anywhere I have lived—and that includes five states and Santa Fe), you can get airlifted by the Southwest Air Ambulance helicopter life flight services based here, to receive more specialized medical attention elsewhere. In fact, the med-evac service is expanding to include fixed-wing aircraft.
If you are expecting a package via an overnight service such as Federal Express, chances are that it will begin the end of its journey at LCIA.
And if you are a body part, the FAA might ship you to Las Cruces for detailed medical examination.
You can no longer go through US Customs here, however. The presence of US Customs is what garnered LCIA its now-outdated "international" designation.
Nor can you grab a flight to anywhere at LCIA, unless you or your company own your own plane.
Lisa Murphy manages LCIA, which falls under city management. Murphy has been a city employee since 1999, and the manager of the airport since the summer of 2005. She has a master's degree in public administration, and happened to be positioned for the job when it came open.
Although Murphy is not a pilot herself, her father is a private pilot. "I've always liked airports and planes," she says, "so it has been a good fit for me, since I have had a lot of exposure to general aviation."
Her father is Wesley Leonard, who is the board of directors chairperson and one of the founders of the New Mexico Wilderness Association. He recently retired from his position as director of the Center for Environmental Resource Management at UTEP.
She says, "He dropped a marketing job in Connecticut to come out here to work at UTEP, and while he was here, he was exposed to New Mexico, and he just fell in love with the Southwest."
Murphy is also a new mom, and still struggles a bit with the lack of things to do in Las Cruces that one usually finds in cities with a large university presence.
But Murphy dismisses the notion that LCIA is a sleepy place. "There is a perception that this is a place just for the 'well to do,' and that's just not true. There is a lot more going on here than you may think," she states.
"For starters, we get a lot of corporate traffic, from companies that fly in executives for meetings and conferences."
No specifics are offered, but the generalization includes banks and other financial institutions.
"We are also a very convenient fuel stop, for those who want to fuel up and fly right out," Murphy continues. "As an FBO (Fix Based Operation), we offer fueling, maintenance, and minor repairs for pilots, 24/7."
Murphy, whose bright demeanor is slightly disarming, adds, "The National Guard also uses the airport as part of its counter-drug mission, using helicopters to cover the desert." She turns around to point out one of the copters, as it lies in wait for its next mission on one of the airport's tarmacs.
At this point, Doug Newton has joined us from his busy office at Adventure Aviation, a short distance away from LCIA's empty and slightly ghostly passenger terminal. Newton is from Georgia, but now considers New Mexico home.
"I was on my way to Chicago for a new job, stopped here, and never made it to that job," he says proudly. "The flying conditions around here are great. What would I want to go to Chicago for?"
Newton is someone who should know about flying conditions. He has been a licensed pilot for nearly 45 years, including time spent with the US Coast Guard and Naval Reserve, and as an airline captain. He has also been a flight instructor for 40 of those years.
He continues Murphy's long list of other activities that take place at LCIA, including serving as the base for a branch of the Civil Air Patrol and search and rescue operations. At one time there was also a glider camp for youth at the airport.
The location and facilities available at LCIA have also brought in film crews to use the site on occasion. The most recent film to use the airport was Traffic, a 2000 release that went on to win four Academy Awards. (There is no Oscar, alas, for Best Airport Location.)
Murphy supervises three employees, including office manager Susan Pfeiffer, who has a wall full of photos that have been taken showing her with various folks of note who have been through LCIA. The budget for LCIA is about $450,000 a year.
The airport covers a large swath of land, 4,975 acres in all. Adjacent is an 1,800-acre industrial park, which is mostly vacant now, but is the future headquarters of the Rocket Racing League and associated enterprises "Failure to Launch," in this issue).
"They have leased some land, and should be out here soon," Murphy says. "The idea is that they use a computer-generated track and the rockets fly through computer-generated shapes." (See the October 2006 Desert Exposure.)
LCIA is home to about 76,000 flight operations each year, and 152 private craft are based there. There are three runways, ranging in length from 6,073 feet to 7,503 feet, 32 large hangers, 65 small "T" hangars, and three sunshades, which can protect about 20 aircraft from weather. A new control tower is in the works, as is an extended taxiing lane.
NMSU also has a presence here. The Physical Science Lab has started to conduct studies "for introduction of unmanned aircraft into the National Airspaces."
You can even rent a car through Adventure Aviation.
But still, for the average citizen, you can't get there from here. "That was their ticket counter," Murphy says as she points toward a small abandoned cubbyhole that once housed the ticket person for Westward Airways, the last commercial service that took a chance on servicing Las Cruces.
"They went out of business in the summer of 2005, and we are not looking for any commercial ventures to come here in the future. They only flew to Albuquerque and Phoenix, and there was just too much competition from El Paso International."
I point out half-kiddingly that the abundance of covered parking would be a perk for a commuter service to locate at LCIA.
Murphy laughs and says, "We need it out here. It bakes in the summer!"
LCIA has taken another hit this year, as the X Prize Cup, a major event that had taken place there the last two years, has pulled up stakes. It will take place at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo this fall instead.
"In part it was because of air-space closures," Murphy explains. "Also, this is a public-use airport, and, well, it has to be open for public use. It was fascinating to have it (the X Prize Cup) here, since it was so new, and the FAA was figuring out how to do it as they went along."
The X Prize expo was a huge event, drawing several thousand people to the facility for a weekend of space-related events and exhibits. (See the October 2005 Desert Exposure.)
On the bright side, US Navy Flight Training has once again been bringing traffic to LCIA. Says Murphy, "The Navy aviators have been doing basic flight training here again. They are here from Corpus Christi, and they come here partially because the weather is so bad there. They just returned after being absent for two years because of budget restraints."
There are several T-34 training planes parked near the terminal building, all of which are leaving this March day, as the training is over. So they are leaving, too. The young pilots, a blend of men and women, sit laughing and recalling incidents over lunch in the Crosswinds cafe.
Newton remains upbeat about the future of LCIA. "I see Las Cruces becoming an alternative to EPIA," he says strongly, referring to El Paso International Airport. "EPIA is becoming a choke point as it grows. Pilots can get in and out of here and on their way a lot quicker.
"We no longer have a customs function, but it could again," he adds. "For now, we cannot accept international flights."
Perhaps surprisingly, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, did not change procedure much at LCIA. Murphy mentions that security was made a bit tighter, but says, "It's not like trying to fly over the Iron Curtain."
For now, Murphy and Newton say they are pleased with the operations that take place at LCIA. An annexation of more land is under way, and the housing boom in Las Cruces is a minor concern, as new subdivisions abut the boundaries of the land the airport already owns and occupies.
Newton says flatly, "This place will be a gateway."
Senior writer Jeff Berg is less afraid of flying than he is of
driving at
home in Las Cruces.