An American Eagle flight takes off from Portland International Jetport in April. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Portland International Jetport plans to spend nearly $5 million on improvements to the passenger terminal building, parking lot and flight path over residential neighborhoods.

Jetport officials are seeking City Council approval to use $4.75 million in cash reserves for various maintenance and repair projects at Maine’s largest airport. They include a new terminal roof ($600,000), a security camera system ($800,000), an entrance mat ($300,000) and an exit baggage handling system ($1.6 million).

In the parking lot, they plan to paint and fireproof structural steel on the lower level ($850,000) and upgrade elevator equipment ($600,000).

The allocation would come from the airport’s unrestricted cash fund, which currently holds $39.1 million, said Paul Bradbury, airport director. It would have no impact on the city’s general fund budget or tax rate.

“During the pandemic, we postponed several projects because travel slowed down,” Bradbury said. “This will allow us to catch up.”

The funding request is on council’s agenda Monday for a first reading. Requires a second reading at a future meeting.

The passenger terminal was built over decades, with the oldest section built in 1967 and the newest in 2012, Bradbury said.

“Several sections of the terminal building roof have reached (the end of) their useful life and require replacement,” Bradbury said in a memo to council. “The CCTV camera network and outbound baggage handling system are now more than 12 years old and require significant software, hardware and controls upgrades.”

The airport’s oldest parking structure is now more than 20 years old, he said.

“Lower level structural steel requires the removal and replacement of existing fire protection and the application of a corrosion-inhibiting paint,” he said. “This project will also address water infiltration that has caused corrosion of structural steel and damage to existing fire protection.”

ADDRESSING AIRCRAFT NOISE

Also at Monday’s 5 p.m. council meeting, Bradbury is seeking $75,000 in unrestricted funds to develop a new overwater airport access that would address flight noise complaints coming from residential neighborhoods.

The airport’s Noise Advisory Committee, a standing committee of the council, has been developing a new approach procedure since 2022. It voted to request funding to formalize the procedure at its Oct. 10 meeting.

The new special instrument approach procedure would allow aircraft to remain over Casco Bay and the Fore River when low visibility, wind or traffic conditions require an approach from the east, Bradbury said. The new procedure would be available day and night and would follow a very strict pattern of less than 0.3 nautical miles.

“This procedure will reduce the impact of aircraft noise on residential areas in South Portland and Peaks Island,” he said.

Instrument approach procedures show approved flight paths, navigation aids and other details necessary to land safely at an airport when pilots must rely on their instrument panels, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Pilots Association. and Aircraft Owners. Pilots access these procedures through aeronautical charts available electronically through flight management systems.

The new approach procedure proposed for the airport would replace an existing one that is only available during daylight and in clear conditions with visibility of at least 4 miles, Bradbury said.

Additionally, no currently available procedures meet the advisory committee’s goal of having an entirely water-based approach that is available around the clock, he said.

Bradbury said the proposed procedure fully meets the committee’s stated objective of “maximizing overflight of compatible areas such as non-residential areas, commercial/industrial areas, the Fore River and the waters of Casco Bay.”

The new procedure would be developed by Flight Tech Engineering of Englewood, Colorado, in coordination with aviation software Vianair, according to Bradbury’s proposal.

It would be available within a year and would initially be owned and maintained by the airport, Bradbury said. It will likely become a public procedure maintained by the FAA in the future.

The funding request for the new approach procedure will also require a second reading at a future meeting.

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