City, FAA in talks about paying for airport repairs

The city of Columbia has requested Federal Aviation Administration funding for emergency repairs to the runway at Columbia Regional Airport.

An FAA spokeswoman said Monday that the FAA and the city are in ongoing discussions about federal funding for the repair, which was expected to cost $400,000 to $500,000. City leaders last week said they expected the FAA to pay for 90 percent of the project.

City officials said there is also money leftover from the original runway 13-31 project to help pay for the project.

The airport closed April 9 for repairs to the intersection of runways 13-31 and 2-20 after airline pilots expressed concerns that a drainage crown caused a bumpy takeoff and landing. The complaints began after the main runway, 2-20, was shut down April 1 for a rehabilitation project and commercial traffic began using the secondary runway, 13-31.

United Airlines resumed flights Sunday after the airport announced Saturday morning it was back open to all air traffic two days ahead of schedule. United’s regional carriers operate several flights daily to and from Denver and Chicago.

A spokesperson for American Airlines said Monday that its regional carriers will resume service at the airport Tuesday. American operates flights that arrive from and depart to Chicago and Dallas/Ft. Worth several times a day.

The flight status page on the airport’s website still showed American flights arriving Monday night from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Chicago, but those flights are not taking place.

Check back for more on this developing story.