Welcome to the Airport for Nobody

in the late afternoon on Thursday, the 23rd of April 2009 by Gypsy

An empty, useless airport, in the middle of nowhere…  dedicated to a man who has nothing but contempt for his constituents!? What is wrong with this picture, rather how many things?

…and guess who is getting tons of bail out money for this pointless, useless, airport in the middle of nowhere? … in his name! 

John Murtha: Reminder, who is Murtha? My constituents are RAAAACIST

Why I say pointless? The 3 empty  flights a day travel what would take 3 1/2 hours by car! The government had a fit when Detroit automakers flew to DC.. yet these flights are ok? Empty flights? Seriously have some HUGE issues with this.. and I have right to, we the taxpaying Americans are paying for this pointless airport!

Read on.. and caution you may feel ill when reading this..

You’ve heard of the Bridge to Nowhere. You might call this the Airport for Nobody.

On average, just 20 people a day flew out of the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport last year. But, the airport was just allocated $800,000 in stimulus funds to repave an alternate runway.

The John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport has an impressive $18 million runway made of reinforced concrete that’s big enough to land any airplane in North America. The airport also has a $7 million air traffic control tower, a $14 million hanger and $8 million radar. Most of the time, the only thing the airport doesn’t have is airplanes.

An average of just 20 people a day flew out of the Murtha Airport last year. But, the airport was just awarded more federal money — $800,000 in stimulus funds to repave an alternate runway.

I am guessing they found all other airports flights were just overflowing & their runways paved with gold? .. Doesn’t this seem extremely odd and frivolous?

$800,000 Stimulus funds, for an Alternate runway.. again let me repeat… when they get 3empty flights a day.. to a location that would only take 3 1/2 hours to drive!???? ARGH!

Located in Johnston, Pa., 56 miles from Pittsburgh, the Murtha Airport is a monument to the power of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who has steered some $150 million in taxpayer dollars to the airport over the last decade.

On one side of the airport’s main entrance, a large photograph of Murtha adorns the wall; on the other side, there’s a bronze plaque with his name. The airport isn’t always deserted. There are three flights a day — all of them to Washington’s Dulles International Airport.


"It’s a breeze to get through security, [there are] no crowds and it’s right in your back yard," one passenger told ABC News. "Definitely nicer than packing up early in the morning and traveling to Pittsburgh."

The federal government provides a subsidy for every flight into the Murtha Airport of about $100 dollars per passenger, but even with the subsidy, there are plenty of empty seats.

On a visit to the airport, ABC News found it virtually deserted, with an empty restaurant, vacant lounges and empty runways. An air traffic controller was twiddling his thumbs.

Thanks to Murtha, there is a Pennsylvania National Guard training facility located at the airport, but its personnel fly helicopters, not airplanes.

Murtha refused multiple ABC News requests for an interview, but airport manager Scott Voekler said the airport provides an important service to the economically devastated Johnstown area.

"It is tremendously important because when you bring companies in, you bring jobs," Voekler said.

Murtha is the person to thank for the "modern, state-of-the-art airport," he added.

The praise for Murtha sounds kinda scripted.. no doubt big-murtha has his thumb on the life line of the local folk!? as Murtha calls the racist local folk!

"All the major construction projects at the airport are directly from Mr. Murtha," Voekler said. "He has been a great sponsor of the airport and is trying to bring business in. … You have to have infrastructure to bring businesses in."

Those who use the airport are grateful to have it.

"This is not an airport for nobody," Johnstown resident Gil Weakland told ABC News after arriving on a flight from Washington. "We have industries here, we have businesses here and we have people who travel out of here."

Yet no one can say what these great industries are.. and why an airport in the middle of no where, that has 3 empty flights a day.. and I have to say again… a flight vs a 3 1/2 hour drive! If this area is in need, weren’t there better ways to help that area? Why an airport?

"John Murtha is a good man," Weakland added. "You got to look at earmarks for what they are. What would communities like this do without a conscientious congressman?"

Welcome to the Airport for Nobody – ABC News

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [MySpace] [Sphere] [StumbleUpon] [Technorati] [Windows Live] [Email]
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Related Posts

2 Responses to “Welcome to the Airport for Nobody”

  1. bob Says:

    Murtha is a prime example of what is wrong with American politics. He is an earmark machine. He constantly brings money to his area. That is the only reason he keeps getting re-elected time and again. This shows how desperately we need term limits. Don’t forget, Murtha was waist deep in the ABSCAM scandal. If that scandal happened today, I doubt he would have gotten off scot-free.

  2. tina Says:

    Bob.. I do not get how there can not be a limit for senators.. delaware kept ending up with biden again and again.. and that gaff-tastic idiot is not vice president.. how i still am baffled. and murtha insults his own constituants and still is there? How was there not a “missing persons” report is beyond me.. you know great fertilizer for the farms?
    i thought the carter era was crazy.. this wins hands down!

Leave a Reply

I`m a quitter. I come from a long line of quitters. It`s amazing I`m here at all.

-- Bernard Black, Black Books

Recent Posts

    Poll

    Are people dumber now than before?
    View Results

Search

Captain's Logs

The Sites

Syndication

Stats

  • Comments: 6943
  • Pingbacks: 49
  • Trackbacks: 172