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The new Cortez Municipal
Airport director wants to
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maintain inexpensive flights,
add more airline service
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and expand the airport's role
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as an economic development
partner in Southwest Colorado.
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You're watching the local
news network brought
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to you by TrueWest Auto of Cortez.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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Jeremy Patton is the new pilot
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at the helm of the
Cortez Municipal Airport.
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He started work on January 7th
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and succeeds Russ Macon
who retired after 41 years
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of service with the city of Cortez.
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Patton most recently
served as a firefighter
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in Los Alamos, New Mexico
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and worked as an air traffic
controller in the Navy.
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As a kid growing up in New
Mexico, he was a frequent visitor
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to Southwest Colorado and
has family who live in Macas.
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The Federal Aviation
Administration has deemed
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the Cortez Airport as an essential airport
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and therefore provides assistance
to maintain air service
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to rural Southwest Colorado.
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But Patton says, he'd like to provide more
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than just an essential service.
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He'd like to expand the airport's role
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as an economic driver in the region.
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So we want to expand a little bit,
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we want to get some more business in here.
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A bigger terminal is on the agenda,
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maybe a larger or additional
planes with the current airline
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and to provide more flights out of Cortez.
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Boutique Air, a small regional carrier
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serves the Cortez market
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with inexpensive flights
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to destinations throughout the West.
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A number of passengers
come from other communities
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in the region to take
advantage of Boutique Air's
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low fares for work and vacation travel.
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Before the pandemic, the Cortez Airport
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saw nearly 10,000 passengers
through its doors.
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It also serves as a base
for military operations,
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a tanker base during firefighting season
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and services private jets.
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Patton says he has a commitment
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to maintain low fares out of Cortez
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but he also says the
airport can play a role
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in bringing out of town
destination visitors
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to the area in partnership
with visit Mesa Verde Country
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and other economic
development organizations.
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And that's the thing we
want to maintain that
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we want to maintain cheap flights
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and we want to attract people here.
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It's not just a terminal
to get out of Cortez.
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You know, I mean
obviously people live here
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that want to go somewhere,
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Like I want to get a flight
to Vegas on the books.
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You know, that'd be
good for the community.
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So I must drive all the way
to Durango or Farmington
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but we want to bring people in.
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There's a lot to offer here
that I think is overlooked
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or is not as rated as it should be.
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And Mesa Verde is awesome.
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The outdoors is,
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there's so many things to do.
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The community is building,
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there's a lot of new shops coming in,
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there's a lot of room for growth.
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So, you know, those are things to consider
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in the next 5, 10 years.
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If you'd like to know
more about the airport
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you can reach Patton at
cortezairport@cityofcortez.com.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
