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	Podcast:		Aspen Public Radio Podcasts
	Episode:		Airport Expansion Not Expected To Fix Pollution And Noise Problems
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:04:36
	Publish Date:		2020-04-09 16:07:28
	Description:		Before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted stay-at-home orders and caused an abrupt decline in flights, a busy weekend in March would have meant a long line of jets on the taxiway at the Aspen airport. In a normal year, about one in four of the planes taking off from Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is a CRJ-700, the passenger jet used by commercial airlines, which officials say could be phased out by 2028 as airlines transition to newer models that are too large for the current runway. On March 10, a county-appointed citizens group called the ASE Vision Committee, which has spent over a year reviewing options for the expansion project, voted 20-to-1 in favor of recommending that Pitkin County widen the runway by 50 feet to accommodate aircraft with longer wingspans and build a new, larger terminal . The expanded runway is expected to increase commercial flights from 8,950 in 2015 to 11,808 in 2033, while private flights are projected to slightly decrease from 30,001 in 2015 to 29,335 in 2033,
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