Eclipse Traffic Floods GA Airports

GA airports got some love from mainstream news outlets as part of their eclipse coverage. According to a CNBC article, “some of the country’s smaller airports” had their “moment in the sun.” As of this morning (April 8), CNBC reported, ground stops halted arrivals at GA airports across the eclipse’s path of totality, ranging from the Gulf Coast of Texas to northern New England.

With an 8,500-foot main runway, Burlington (Vermont) International Airport (KBTV) has 130 based aircraft, more than half of which are single-engine (The “International” designation is largely due to its proximity to the Canadian border). As it turned out, Burlington fell within one of the most weather-friendly areas of the country for eclipse viewing. Director of aviation operations Dave Carman told CNBC over the weekend he was expecting between 100 and 130 in-and-out transient arrivals today, along with a fair share of commercial jet arrivals. “It’s the most we’ve seen in a day,” he said. “It’s going to be hectic getting out.”

Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airport (KMDH) in Murphrysboro, said incoming traffic inundated the facility over the weekend. She said, “We had to close the runway to park planes. This is by far the most aircraft we’ve ever seen.” KMDH, about 90 nautical miles southeast of St. Louis, is a towered airport with three runways, the longest of which is 6,500 feet. It lies centrally within the path of eclipse totality, and the airport had set up a reservation system for arrivals. As of Friday, the parking capacity of some 230 piston and 45 jet aircraft was met.