BATAVIA, N.Y. -- The Genesee County Airport in Batavia might not get the traffic of Buffalo or Rochester, but it can be just as important, and it's because of this, and regular small plane air traffic, $559,000 is going to improving it.
"A place like Batavia, some of its businesses, some of the people and people who like to fly, depend on it," Sen. Chuck Schumer said. "But the expense of upgrading the airports is too much for the federal taxpayer. So there is a grant that I've always supported that will help more rural areas like Batavia improve it's runways.”
The more than half a million dollar grant will be used to clear trees that are within the "Runway Safety Area" or 500 feet of the area. For local aviators, it's all about safety. With an emergency landing in May highlighting the risks they’re hoping to limit.
"We did have an incident here on the runway, that the plan went airborne again, and then had to land on the public street outside the airport,” said Tim Hens, the Genesee County Highway Superintendent, “so if they were going in the other direction to the north, they would have been landing in trees, which could have caused significant damage or even a fatality."
The money will also be used to expand the perimeter fence, and redesign the runway as well. With work slated to start in the fall, weather permitting.