The Logan/Cache Airport received a scathing review as part of an external audit on the airport’s operations, financials and governance this past week.
The audit was commissioned from the Cache County Airport Authority Board and took place between December 2023 and March 2024. Dr. Michael Jones conducted the audit as part of Swelbar-Zhong Consultancy, an aeronautical company analysis firm.
Jones was harsh in his critique of Logan/Cache Valley Airport, but also offered many recommendations that he believes can help change the direction of the airport in his 153-page report.
Jones pointed out areas of weakness such as the airport’s financial under performance, subpar safety improvements, reliance on government subsidies and convoluted and unexperienced leadership.
In an Airport Authority Board meeting Thursday, Jones went over the report with the board. Jones said that while he doesn’t doubt that all those involved with the airport want the best for it, it is not going in a good direction right now.
“The airport’s been dealt a tricky hand to play,” Jones said. “The object of this study is to find a way forward, dealing with what we’ve got, but trying to improve from there.”
Jones said that he understands that as a county entity, there are unique situations with balancing the budget, but as a business, the airport is failing.
“I know as a county entity, it’s required to have a balanced budget,” Jones said. “But when you put it into a more business-like accounting format, you see it’s losing six figures every single year.”
Jones said that the airport is not financially sustainable right now, which is a Federal Aviation Association (FAA) requirement. He said that the airport is in danger of losing its FAA Part 139 Airport Certification, which would affect the ability to host scheduled, large flights such as those Utah State University’s sports teams take from the airport.
The Part 139 Certification also costs the airport quite a lot, Jones said. In addition to a yearly $150,000 fee, the certification means the airport must have up-to-date firefighting equipment, including a more than $1 million dollar firetruck.
According to Jones, that truck was bought 12 years ago and has only been driven 20 miles. Despite that, to stay up to date with Part 139 requirements, that truck will need to be fully replaced in three years.
According to Jones’s audit report, 54 percent of the airport’s total revenue is from government subsidies, which makes it a standout from other similar airports.
“In most instances, a well-run airport can pay its bills and operate without government subsidies,” Jones said.
Jones presented an airport report card that he made to the Airport Authority Board. The report card found two areas of the airport that were “passing” and 19 areas that were “failing”.
The passing areas were the USU Aviation program, and that the airport is actually pretty busy for its size.
The failing section included failures such as no clear direction and no goals in the airport’s master plan, bad economic impact, under-investment, security issues, infrastructure issues and various safety issues.
One safety issue is the inadequate snow removal at the airport. According to Jones, the airport does not have the necessary equipment such as snow brooms to clear runways and safety lights.
“The FAA raised the standard almost 20 years ago, and you guys have not responded to those heightened standards in 20 years,” Jones said.
Another large failure was that the airport does not have a control tower, which it should for as busy as it is, Jones said. A control tower would cost an additional $15 million to build. However, Jones mentioned that building a “contract tower” with FAA grants could mitigate building costs.
Jones blamed these failures on weak governance, including the split ownership of the airport between Logan City and Cache County as well as an inadequate Airport Authority Board.
Jones said the Airport Authority Board should be comprised of experts in aeronautical engineering, marketing and other helpful business areas. Currently, he said, it is more of a political board with insufficient aeronautical expertise.
Jones presented many recommendations for the airport to fix the governance issues and make it financially stable and sustainable. The first recommendation was to get experts on the Airport Authority Board and consolidate ownership into one group, rather than Logan City and Cache County splitting ownership.
Other recommendations included running the airport as a business rather than a government entity, building a control tower, fixing infrastructure and creating a USU Aviation campus.
Recommendations to increase revenue at the airport included introducing landing fees, revamping bad fuel and hangar lease contracts and striking a contract with USU to pay for part or all the Part 139 Certification expenses, including the $150,000 yearly cost to the FAA.
After the presentation, Brett Hugie, vice chair of the Airport Authority Board, said that the board is looking over the recommendations and plans to get the airport moving in the right direction.
“We really appreciate what Dr. Jones has done, we believe there are many things we can do to help move the airport forward as an important asset in the community,” Hugie said.
A full copy of the audit as well as the Airport Authority Board’s response to all 30 recommendations from Jones can be found at cachecounty.gov/news.
