Salinas named in state AAM corridor grant; airport master plan finalized

Airport staff told commissioners Jan. 22 that the airport master plan has been finalized and signed off by the Federal Aviation Administration and is available in print or via an electronic link.

"The airport master plan is now finalized. It's been published. It's been signed off by the FAA," staff said. The presenter noted the plan was developed before much Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) research and said AAM and air-taxi sections will be more fully analyzed in the next plan update.

Staff also described a state-funded project administered through the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) to stand up test airspace corridors and a vertiport across four airports: Salinas, Marina, Watsonville and Hollister. The presentation referenced a figure in the slides (transcribed as $7,400,000) and said the grant would fund three initial airspace corridors and a vertiport; staff emphasized Salinas hopes to serve as the lead sponsor because it has an air traffic control tower and longer runways than the partner airports.

Commissioners asked how three corridors would connect four airports and flagged operational questions such as corridor routing, deconfliction and air traffic control communications; staff said corridor assignments can rotate and that many technical details remain to be provided by the state and MBEP.

Staff said a joint four-airport economic impact study is near completion and is expected to be presented at the April meeting as a published report.

Staff cautioned that many corridor and vertiport design details remain limited at this stage and said more information will be shared as MBEP and state partners define the program.