I’m no longer in Chicago, but thank goodness I flew out of O’Hare: in the dark of night last night, Chicago Mayor Daley had bulldozers move in to Meigs Field and destroy the runways, closing the airport. From NBC 5:
Mayor Richard M. Daley said Meigs Field was closed to protect the city. The closure of Meigs “will make Chicago a safer city and make us feel like a safer city,” Daley said at a City Hall news conference.
There were no threats specific to Chicago, he said.
Even though the downtown area and Near North Side have a temporary flight restriction imposed, it was not enough, he said.
“First of all, a temporary flight restriction is just that — temporary. It could be lifted at anytime,” Daley said.
“More important, it does not address the problem that occurs every day as aircraft approach Meigs Field within a few hundred yards and only a few seconds flight time of our tallest buildings,” Daley said.
“Those airplanes appear to be going to Meigs, but with a sudden turn they could cause a terrible tragedy downtown or in our crowded parks. That scares me, and it scares people who live, work and visit downtown and use our parks. They should not have to wonder whether every airplane that appears to be headed for Meigs might have other intentions,” Daley said.
What could be the real story behind this? Closing a general aviation airport because of a threat to high rise buildings? In reality, a small private plane of the type that use these airports is lighter than most SUVs, and would not even scratch a skyscraper. Some windows would be broken, and the pilot would most likely be the only fatality. No, I think that the Mayor pounced because he believed that it would be seen as being “proactive” and politically safe.
A statement issued Monday morning by the Federal Aviation Administration read:
We at the FAA were concerned to hear about the decision to close Meigs Field. We share the concerns given by general aviation. Removing any centrally located airport from the system diminishes capacity and puts added pressure at Midway and O’Hare.
