The Alaskan village of Akutan is home to 100 permanent residents and 900 seasonal workers. Like many Alaskan communities, Akutan makes its money off seafood production. At the moment, the village is only reachable by a 70 year old sea plane - and they are quickly running out of parts for it.
The solution is a new airport. The facility will transport people on the 20 minute flight to the town of Unalaska where they can connect to other flights. Like most Alaskan transportation services - this route is extremely heavily subsidized.
The new airport will cost a whopping $76 million. The sea plane currently carries 5500 people annually, so some simple math shows that in the first ten years of operation, the tax payers are forking over $1350 for every single passenger using the facility. This doesn't even include any additional costs of operating the airport (another $500,000 each year).
Alaskan village building $76 million airport - for 100 people | Gadling.com
why not a couple on new planes?
The solution is a new airport. The facility will transport people on the 20 minute flight to the town of Unalaska where they can connect to other flights. Like most Alaskan transportation services - this route is extremely heavily subsidized.
The new airport will cost a whopping $76 million. The sea plane currently carries 5500 people annually, so some simple math shows that in the first ten years of operation, the tax payers are forking over $1350 for every single passenger using the facility. This doesn't even include any additional costs of operating the airport (another $500,000 each year).
Alaskan village building $76 million airport - for 100 people | Gadling.com
why not a couple on new planes?