CLOVIS, New Mexico (KFDA) – Clovis Regional Airport is making many upgrades to their airport like adding TSA so people can go to straight to their connecting flights in Denver, they are bringing in a 50 passenger regional jet, so they can fly more people and are they even working on getting flights to Dallas.
“I see the potential of the Clovis Regional Airport, hence the name change. And just making decisions to bring in more passengers, more business to the City of Clovis. The airport’s the hub for the region, so it all starts with the airport. Its where the businesses fly in and they want to come to a good facility. So, it all starts here at the airport,” said James Harris, airport director at Clovis Regional Airport.
Upgrades to their facilities and services are in progress.
TSA will include a one screen security lane. The construction will be completed this March and will be in service once all TSA equipment is ready in June.
Harris says flights to Dallas are in the works because a lot of the traffic out of Clovis would prefer to go to Dallas, but it still has to be approved by the FAA.
“A lot of our military, they head that way and it’s easier to get to their destinations from Dallas than it is to Denver. I mean, you can get anywhere through Denver, but sometimes it’s more comfortable to go through Dallas,” said Harris.
Harris says being able to fly more passengers in and out of Clovis will also benefit the community as next month Denver Air Connection will be bringing in a 50-passenger regional jet, which will be the biggest jet they have.
“It’ll impact the community by allowing larger aircraft in, more businesses to fly into Clovis and not have to drive to other airports. We just have to get recognized. When we get recognized for our air travel to Denver and hopefully Dallas, I think passengers would prefer to fly out of Clovis and not drive hours away to get on a flight,” said Harris.
Some other projects they are working on include an airport fencing project to keep out wildlife, repaving the south side of the taxiway alpha, adding additional space in the facility, offering pilots the ability to self-serve their fuel and are starting a hanger ramp and parking lot lighting project next week.