SCLA airport authority is pursuing dramatic expansion plans for the Victorville site following the start of work to extend the longer of its two main runways from 3,980m (13,050ft) to 4,590m.
The extension - which makes it one of the longest runways in the world - will permit year-round operation of fully loaded freighters including 747-400Fs, and marking a significant milestone in SCLA's plan to become a major cargo hub. The airport, managed by Stirling Airports International, is already the western US hub for SwissGlobalCargo.
SCLA development consultant and former McDonnell Douglas president Jim Worsham says that scheduled cargo services are next on the target list. "We'd also like to get a flight-trainingorganisation based here, and we have plans for a paint hangar that could take larger aircraft." The airport has also rapidly become one of the largest repositories of stored airliners in the world, with more than 270 currently registered.
Source: Flight International
