Crosswind runway delayed

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Airport Authority board members Wednesday halted plans for a $17 million federally approved crosswind runway at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), citing financial restraints. The airport in West Bay paying its $2 million to $3 million share of the crosswind runway project would put ECP's financial status in jeopardy, airport board officials said. The crosswind runway would provide better wind coverage for smaller aircraft. The airport's current runway doesn’t meet Federal Aviation Administration's wind coverage requirement for smaller general aviation aircraft. "We're just not going to jeopardize the financial end of the airport with this right now," said John Pilcher, board chairman. "We're just going to have to put this on hold right now and figure out other ways to fund this thing." (Source: News Herald, 03/26/14)