Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles was honored by the Federal Aviation Administration with the “Louisiana Airport of the Year” award.
The award was presented at the 2018 FAA Southwest Regional Airport Conference in Fort Worth and accepted by Chennault representatives Randy Robb, Andrea LaFleur, Cortez Gallien, Loretta Hanks and John McMullen.
The award citation praises Chennault’s “utmost creativity” in developing a plan to create an alternate runway by widening and improving a parallel taxiway, followed by major rehabilitation of the main runway, resulting in two first-class runways. This plan avoids closure of the airport’s only runway for repairs, which would be “a catastrophic blow to the regional economy.” The new 8,000 x 150–foot alternate runway/taxiway “will allow the airport to maintain its contribution to the bustling of southwest Louisiana economy, while rehabilitating their primary runway.”
Chennault’s award citation states, “The airport’s efforts, coordination, and attention to the FAA’s standards of safety and operations, while utilizing the utmost creativity are the reasons Chennault International Airport Authority is being recognized for Airport of the Year.”
The FAA’s Airport of the Year award recognizes airports that “have created a positive safety culture, implemented sound and consistent capital planning, supported FAA initiatives and have enhanced safety at the airport.”
Chennault International Airport is an industrial airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, operated by the Chennault International Airport Authority. The airport and its tenant companies employ more than 1,500 people, providing an annual economic impact of some $300 million. For more information, visit www.chennault.org.