Sifter

The Chico Municipal Airport is one of the pillars of the local economy and also hosts airborne fire crews from the California Department of Forestry. But some of its neighbors think it’s noisy, causes traffic and damages the natural environement. As the city gears up for a fight over how much the airport can expand, we offer the following statistics:

1,825—Estimated full-time employees working at airport complex

70—Percentage of Butte County air travelers who choose Sacramento airport

$28 million—Amount lost by air traveler ‘leakage” to big-city airports

1,338—Tons of cargo loaded at Chico airport in 2000; expected to double by 2010

25,295—Passengers leaving from Chico airport in 2001; may quadruple by 2008

67,438—Total flights in 2000; forecasted to reach 80,000 by 2008

350—Average flights per year by CDF; about 3 per day during fire season

87db—Average sound exposure from DC-4 flights, Measured March 1999

11,215—Vehicles per day traveling Cohasset Road near airport

Sources: Chico Air Service Profile & Recommendation Analysis, 2001 (City of Chico); Chico Municpal Airport Master Plan Report, 2003 (City of Chico)