Mayor Rybak meets with St. Cloud Mayor on Airport Issues
Group Seeks "Win-Win" on Increase in Air Cargo Traffic
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak met with St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker and
other local government and business leaders to discuss the potential for
expanding air cargo flights in the St. Cloud area.
"The airline industry is bouncing back strongly after September 11 and MSP
[the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport] is quickly running out of capacity.
Meanwhile, St. Cloud and other regional centers are looking to expand
airport service in their areas. The potential for a win-win result cannot
be overlooked," Rybak said.
Other members of the Minneapolis delegation at the St. Cloud Civic Center
included City Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy, MAC (Metropolitan Airports
Commission) Commissioner Dan Boivin, and staff from the Planning Department
and the office of Council Member Scott Benson. Approximately 80 St. Cloud
leaders participated, including City Council Member and MAC Commissioner
Mike Landy and officials of the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
The program began with presentations by Hugh Doyle, Vice President of SITA
Logistics Solutions and an internationally respected expert on air cargo and
Mike Louis from the Minnesota Department of Aeronautics [MnDOT]. Doyle
emphasized that air cargo access is essential for Minnesota to compete in a
global economy. "Just-in-time" business demands means such access includes
48 hours or less cargo service to and from worldwide locations. Currently
Minnesota air cargo takes four to six days to access international
locations, whether from MSP or sent via Chicago. Approximately 200 metro
area trucks per week travel to Chicago to get access to their international
air cargo hub.
Doyle's recommendations included creating a "cargo twin" airport that
complements passenger service at MSP and a Midwest Gateway Regional
Distribution Center (RDC) located in between MSP and the "cargo twin." The
RDC would synthesize the "many fragmented operational processes common to
airlines, forwarders, truckers and handlers." A full modeling of the
proposed distribution and enterprise infrastructure is a potential next
step.
Rybak, Ellenbecker and others met after the presentations to discuss
lobbying legislators and follow-up meetings with Congressmen Martin Sabo and
Jim Oberstar, who have already been involved.
"What we're pursuing is not a silver bullet solution to long-term airport
capacity problems at MSP, but an incremental step that will push us in the
direction of a much-needed statewide aviation strategy. We're losing a huge
amount of air cargo business to Chicago, and all of Minnesota will benefit
from bringing that business back here in a responsible way. This is about
proactive development-building for the competitive Minnesota we want 20 to
30 years from now." Rybak said.
Business and government leaders in Rochester have also explored expanding
air cargo capacity, and Rybak emphasized that he was taking a "site neutral"
position on building new air cargo capacity away from MSP.
"The opportunities in the St. Cloud area are potentially magnified when you
consider the Northstar commuter rail project, which is delayed but still
coming and very worthwhile. Those possibilities are intriguing, but I'm
ready to talk to folks in Rochester as well. One way or another, Minnesota
must have a statewide aviation strategy if we want to build our economy and
be competitive," Rybak concluded.
Laura Sether
Office of Mayor Rybak
350 S. 5th St., Room 331
Minneapolis, MN 55415
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