Has anyone noticed the basic neglect that our newly renovated Will Rogers Airport is suffering from?

That airport is something that I take great pride in meeting friends at and sending them off from. After traversing many substandard airports, I also personally enjoy relaxing and awaiting my flight.

This week though, I took my girlfriend to the airport and noticed some basic issues in the rush to the ticket kiosk. One of the escalators was broken in the key elevator tower from the parking deck. The walls along the moving sidewalk were all scuffed up. I really didn't think anything about it.

Then I had to pick up a friend two days later. The escalator was moving again but sounding a threatening "WHACK" on every oscillation. A different escalator was broken this time from the pedestrian tunnel to the terminal.

Then today, I had to meet my girlfriend. On my way in from the parking deck I nearly bit the dust over a floor mat that had been strategically placed over a "pothole" directly in front of the automatic doors on the inside of the main elevator tower. A pothole! Inside the building! Covered up 3 Stooges style!

On the way down the still whacking escalator I noticed that the roof on the elevator tower was leaking causing the relatively new ceiling tiles to start visibly collapsing inwards. I noticed that the ceiling tiles in the pedestrian tunnel were also carelessly placed on their support grid and also collapsing from their own weight with gaps between many of them. The skylights in the tunnel were visibly dirty on the outside. The wall were more scuffed than I remembered with large unpainted "mud" patch repairs. The escalator was still broken and corralled off. And finally in the terminal, the large floating light diffusers hanging over the main security checkpoints were full of bugs and water marks.

I will say the building itself is clean and the structure seems fine.

Absolutely none of these things couldn't be repaired by a reasonably accomplished handyman and regular escalator servicing. Give some guy $20 an hour with a 55 gallon drum of 409, some paint swatches, a A frame ladder, and a concrete trowel. I know city budgets are hurting, but don't you think it is cheaper to maintain than renovate? Especially with the US Conference of Mayors coming this month. Geez...

Has anyone noticed the basic neglect that our newly renovated Will Rogers Airport is suffering from?

That airport is something that I take great pride in meeting friends at and sending them off from. After traversing many substandard airports, I also personally enjoy relaxing and awaiting my flight.

This week though, I took my girlfriend to the airport and noticed some basic issues in the rush to the ticket kiosk. One of the escalators was broken in the key elevator tower from the parking deck. The walls along the moving sidewalk were all scuffed up. I really didn't think anything about it.

Then I had to pick up a friend two days later. The escalator was moving again but sounding a threatening "WHACK" on every oscillation. A different escalator was broken this time from the pedestrian tunnel to the terminal.

Then today, I had to meet my girlfriend. On my way in from the parking deck I nearly bit the dust over a floor mat that had been strategically placed over a "pothole" directly in front of the automatic doors on the inside of the main elevator tower. A pothole! Inside the building! Covered up 3 Stooges style!

On the way down the still whacking escalator I noticed that the roof on the elevator tower was leaking causing the relatively new ceiling tiles to start visibly collapsing inwards. I noticed that the ceiling tiles in the pedestrian tunnel were also carelessly placed on their support grid and also collapsing from their own weight with gaps between many of them. The skylights in the tunnel were visibly dirty on the outside. The wall were more scuffed than I remembered with large unpainted "mud" patch repairs. The escalator was still broken and corralled off. And finally in the terminal, the large floating light diffusers hanging over the main security checkpoints were full of bugs and water marks.

I will say the building itself is clean and the structure seems fine.

Absolutely none of these things couldn't be repaired by a reasonably accomplished handyman and regular escalator servicing. Give some guy $20 an hour with a 55 gallon drum of 409, some paint swatches, a A frame ladder, and a concrete trowel. I know city budgets are hurting, but don't you think it is cheaper to maintain than renovate? Especially with the US Conference of Mayors coming this month. Geez...

Reading this makes me mad. This is city property, and the renovation was paid for by the citizens of this city. The citizens deserve better management of the facility, especially after the facility received a multimillion dollar upgrade. Aggravating.

The facility was not paid for by the city or its citizens. It was completely paid through the Airport Trust fund. The Airport Trust gains its funds through Passenger Facility Charged (3 bucks added to every ticket sold), landing fees, royalties on oil produced on airport property, tenant leases, investor bonds, and other miscellaneous revenue sources. No city or state tax money was directly involved in the construction except for utilities and roadways.

Please know your facts before you babble off stuff, guru.

Well what do you think Sky? Your obviously are in there all of the time. My background is construction so I started noticing this stuff when I actually had the time to stop and stare at it.

There was a cleaning crew in there at night busy cleaning. But they are not cleaning skylights, air vents, or light shades. It seems to me that this belongs into the handyman territory.

You have no idea what I think about it....

You haven't seen rats until you've been in the back areas of the airport. Me and my ex-coworkers always called them Mickey's Friends. We caught one and sharpie'd it and named him George....fun little guy, he was around for a few months until he found the cheese-trap.

The maintenance, or lack of, is terrible but it's not the city's problem. The trust is responsible in sorting it out. That's all I was pointing out. I have more stories, but I would like to keep them to myself to avoid completely embarrassing the airport upper management. I'll just leave it at this: Aircraft parking lines need to be repainted regularly.

I have noticed they keep the main concourse in pretty good shape, but utility (car parking areas, walkways, the tunnel, behind the scenes areas, etc. are pathetically maintained)

I am in many airports around the country and world and there are similar issues everywhere. Airports are heavily utilized and need constant maintenance. I'm sure more could be done but don't think it's just a local problem.

I am in many airports around the country and world and there are similar issues everywhere. Airports are heavily utilized and need constant maintenance. I'm sure more could be done but don't think it's just a local problem.

if thats the case then we should fix it up to stand out from other airports

Although it would certainly appear that the Airport gets City (taxpayer) money (has its own 18 pg chapter devoted to it in the 09-10 City Budget Report (available for download from OKC.gov, Budget & Finance tab). Don't feel like finding out what those 18 pages of apparent taxpayer money encompass right now.

It also looks like SkyWestOKC is at least technically correct

Will Rogers World Airport (http://www.flyokc.com/index.aspx?page=financing)


Financing the $110 Million Project

Unlike most of Oklahoma City’s recent renovation and renewal projects, the expansion of the terminal at Will Rogers was not financed with city tax dollars. Instead, all construction dollars came from funds acquired and managed by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust.

...

The Trust derives most of its funds from three main sources. For capital projects, AA Senior Lien and A+ Junior Lien bonds (as rated by Standard & Poor’s) are sold to investors, while airport improvement project (AIP) grants are obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fund improvements that affect aircraft and airfield operations. The airport’s operational costs are paid with rents collected from airport tenants and with royalties from airport mineral assets.

AIP grants from the FAA contributed almost $22.5 million to the recent terminal expansion, with the rest coming from the sale of bonds.

To service the bonds, passenger facilities charges (PFCs) are set by the Trust and added to the price of individual airline tickets, then distributed to the Trust by the airlines. The use of the PFCs collected is regulated and approved by the FAA. For the terminal construction project, $98.5 million of the cost was raised by the sale of bonds, to be paid off with PFC revenues. As a result, nearly 90 percent of the terminal construction expenses came from the people who actually use the air terminal.

The Trust’s reliance on this “pay-as-you-go” concept insures that citizens of Oklahoma City will always have an air terminal that is appropriate to its needs, as reflected by passenger traffic and airline service.

It does get confusing. Yes it has a budget, and those budgets do go to projects around the airport, but the terminal itself was paid, like I said, through the OCAT fund, not through the budget. Also, the New Parking Garage was paid for through the OCAT fund. OCAT = Oklahoma City Airport Trust

A lot of funding comes from the FAA when it involves the operations side: taxiways, runways, airfield maintenance and lighting, etc.

The airport's city budget is helping to pay for resurfacing of Meridian Ave. (the portion that runs on the west side of Terminal Drive.

If you think WRWA is dirty and has maintenance problems then you better stay away from Atlanta Hartsfield. Of course, Hartfield does have 200,000 people a day go through it.

i flew in/out last week. compared to many airports, ours is very nice. the only thing i noticed that looked crappy was the OU "highest in national merit scholars" banner hanging over the stairs you go down to baggage claim...it was ratty and looked cheap.

It's very simple. Go to the substandard OKC airport web site and send an email. I did so a few weeks ago pointing out the lack of updated information on the web site and they promptly replied back to me - didn't fix it but they said they are going to soon. If you send your thoughts (copy and paste all the things you mentioned on here), I bet they start fixing some of them. As you said, you are in construction and notice some things other people may not notice as readily. Enlighten the airport officials that we are watching them.

SkyWest,

Thank you for clarifying. So it wasn't our tax dollars. It's still maddening that all of this effort at renovation happens and it's not being properly maintained.

i flew in/out last week. compared to many airports, ours is very nice.


It is very nice because it is nearly new. It won't stay looking that way for long if it doesn't have basic repairs done.

I have noticed that OKC (city) basic infrastructure is at the very least neglected, or the most a lawsuit waiting to happened.


I dont fly often and only care for the runway condition..lol

contact them at

wrwa@okc.gov

karen.carney@okc.gov

She usually responds to most things.

If it's important/urgent mark.kranenburg@okc.gov -- but, he's the head man, so he has a lot of stuff to do, the last thing he needs is a renaissance of emails. I only use that address sparingly and recommend the same to others.

thanks for the better info.

The OP didn't point out anything other than some basic maintenance issues prevalent in every airport. But these problems won't go away, they give the impression of incompetent or ambivalent management, and they'll be more expensive to fix the longer they remain.

I consider the bigger problem to be with management. It's one thing to fix an escallator or pothole, but quite another to make a change at the Airport Trust, and I've never known it NOT to be broken.

I will email her a link to this thread. If you see problems with the airport, go ahead and post them. They should know.

If the airport is as neglected as ya'll say it is then there's a pretty good chance ex-employees of Case and Associates (Oklahoma City) must be working there.

Best of luck in getting some attention paid to this problem.

Two years ago I emailed Mark K. about this very issue. Specifically the dirty conditions on the 2-level parking deck (cigarette butts everywhere, nasty floors, litter everywhere. Looked like the sidewalks and surrounding curbing hadn't been cleaned in 25 years).

I was surprised to get a phone call from him asking more about what I mentioned in my email. When I began, he pretty much said he didn't notice any problem and if in fact there was any, it was the fault of the cleaning staff and he couldn't do anything about that.

Two years later, that area remains just as nasty, if not more, than before.

I really don't think it's neglected. As has been pointed out, airports are high traffic areas. Sometimes stuff gets overlooked, and I most always side with the Airport Trust on these types of issues. I think the management is doing better than any other management groups we've had.

They really do excel when it comes to air service recruitment, one of the better teams in the cities of our size. They also do a very good job at organizing the construction of the facilities. However, regular maintenance is an area where we could see improvement, I think. Of the airports I've been to, from a passenger standpoint, they really are all about the same when it comes to the cleanliness and maintenance. I don't know about the behind-the-scenes stuff at other airports, so I can't compare, but I imagine it is the same everywhere.

DelCamino...if you by chance live anywhere near, or happen to use the Hefner and Council U.S. Post Office...you can see where I wrote last years date in the dust just inside the main entrance. It has not been cleaned in over a year! Of course I haven't been to the Post Office this week...

And the cigarette butts out on the sidewalk...disgusting!

DelCamino...if you by chance live anywhere near, or happen to use the Hefner and Council U.S. Post Office...you can see where I wrote last years date in the dust just inside the main entrance. It has not been cleaned in over a year! Of course I haven't been to the Post Office this week...

If it bugs you that much, pull out a rag and wipe it down yourself.. you obviously have the free time to do it, since you had time to write in the dust..



And the cigarette butts out on the sidewalk...disgusting!

What makes it so disgusting? Are you down on your hands and knees licking the sidewalk? Again, if it's so disgusting to you, sweep it up yourself..

The Post Office belongs to you... you paid for it.. The U.S. Postal service loses more and more money every year, why don't you help out and clean up on the property you paid for?

I really don't think it's neglected. As has been pointed out, airports are high traffic areas. Sometimes stuff gets overlooked, and I most always side with the Airport Trust on these types of issues. I think the management is doing better than any other management groups we've had.

They really do excel when it comes to air service recruitment, one of the better teams in the cities of our size. They also do a very good job at organizing the construction of the facilities. However, regular maintenance is an area where we could see improvement, I think. Of the airports I've been to, from a passenger standpoint, they really are all about the same when it comes to the cleanliness and maintenance. I don't know about the behind-the-scenes stuff at other airports, so I can't compare, but I imagine it is the same everywhere.

You're right, SkyWest. The staff seems to be very efficient at recruitment of new air service (given the parameters of economics and numbers), and the managment of the terminal expansion was handled very well. IThey do work hard.

I think, though, that because the airport serves as our 'front door,' nothing can be overlooked and attention to details is important. General upkeep and maintenance is part of the job of marketing our city, not to mention making sure the capital improvements are taken care of.

Admittedly, I'm a stickler for property upkeep and can expect, sometimes, too much. But when recruiting those prospective airlines, well kept facilities are vital to the overall 'sell.' It doesn't look good when one looks skyward in the terminal and see giant dust bunnies on top of the smoked glass lights hanging about the security checkpoints.

Well-maintained grounds should be a part of their hard work.

Wow! Sounds like you are holding on to some deep rooted grudges there fuzzytoad. Perhaps the Prison Guards had you on morning detail too often?

If you think WRWA is dirty and has maintenance problems then you better stay away from Atlanta Hartsfield. Of course, Hartfield does have 200,000 people a day go through it.

I used to fly a lot and my "hands down" winner for dirty was IAH(Houston)

Disneyland and Disneyworld are busy too, but you won't find cleaner places. Priorities.

Has anyone noticed the basic neglect that our newly renovated Will Rogers Airport is suffering from?

That airport is something that I take great pride in meeting friends at and sending them off from. After traversing many substandard airports, I also personally enjoy relaxing and awaiting my flight.

This week though, I took my girlfriend to the airport and noticed some basic issues in the rush to the ticket kiosk. One of the escalators was broken in the key elevator tower from the parking deck. The walls along the moving sidewalk were all scuffed up. I really didn't think anything about it.

Then I had to pick up a friend two days later. The escalator was moving again but sounding a threatening "WHACK" on every oscillation. A different escalator was broken this time from the pedestrian tunnel to the terminal.

Then today, I had to meet my girlfriend. On my way in from the parking deck I nearly bit the dust over a floor mat that had been strategically placed over a "pothole" directly in front of the automatic doors on the inside of the main elevator tower. A pothole! Inside the building! Covered up 3 Stooges style!

On the way down the still whacking escalator I noticed that the roof on the elevator tower was leaking causing the relatively new ceiling tiles to start visibly collapsing inwards. I noticed that the ceiling tiles in the pedestrian tunnel were also carelessly placed on their support grid and also collapsing from their own weight with gaps between many of them. The skylights in the tunnel were visibly dirty on the outside. The wall were more scuffed than I remembered with large unpainted "mud" patch repairs. The escalator was still broken and corralled off. And finally in the terminal, the large floating light diffusers hanging over the main security checkpoints were full of bugs and water marks.

I will say the building itself is clean and the structure seems fine.

Absolutely none of these things couldn't be repaired by a reasonably accomplished handyman and regular escalator servicing. Give some guy $20 an hour with a 55 gallon drum of 409, some paint swatches, a A frame ladder, and a concrete trowel. I know city budgets are hurting, but don't you think it is cheaper to maintain than renovate? Especially with the US Conference of Mayors coming this month. Geez...

I agree 100% with you on this and I just flew back in a few days ago and noticed every exact thing you mentioned.

Fast forward to frame 5:50. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8-PlnJ3kkk&feature=related

Airport maintenance.

Best of luck in getting some attention paid to this problem.

Two years ago I emailed Mark K. about this very issue. Specifically the dirty conditions on the 2-level parking deck (cigarette butts everywhere, nasty floors, litter everywhere. Looked like the sidewalks and surrounding curbing hadn't been cleaned in 25 years).

I was surprised to get a phone call from him asking more about what I mentioned in my email. When I began, he pretty much said he didn't notice any problem and if in fact there was any, it was the fault of the cleaning staff and he couldn't do anything about that.

Two years later, that area remains just as nasty, if not more, than before.

Wow. If this is true OKC needs a new airport director. That is unacceptable.

Urban Pioneer. Have you let the mayor know about this? Chamber? You are dead on correct about the image importance of the US Conference of Mayors. Hugely important to OKC. Mr. Kranenburg and the airport leadership need to get things in gear before this very important visit.

I think everyone is making a mound out of a molehill here. Mr. Kranenburg and his team are no doubt the best team this city and airport system has ever had. We would be foolish to replace them over something like this. They have a ton of projects they are working on right now, and remember, they are also responsible for Wiley Post, Clarence E. Page, and Will Rogers. The terminal functions, is clean in most areas the public sees, and what is broken, usually gets fixed. Send emails to them and point it out, they will get it fixed. It's not possible for them to look at every single ceiling tile, light fixture, or carpet strand.

They are doing an outstanding job in my opinion, some stuff, yes does get run down. Every day 10,000 people are inside that terminal building. It's bound to get some scuffs.

Not to mention, do you really think these mayors coming in here care about our city? Of course they don't. They aren't looking to move to OKC, or try and suggest OKC to businesses that are based in their town. They care about their town and really just about only there town. A broken ceiling tile won't ruin their impression over the city -- I'd be surprised if they even noticed it.

Not to mention, do you really think these mayors coming in here care about our city? Of course they don't. They aren't looking to move to OKC, or try and suggest OKC to businesses that are based in their town.

This is patently absurd. Remember, it's not just mayors visiting, but national media and national policy makers as well. To suggest the opinions of these very influential people are not important to OKC is to miss the entire point of OKC hosting the conference. This is supposed to be a coming out party for OKC. This is PR/Marketing 101.

No one is suggesting Kranenburg be fired for faulty maintenance. My comment was directed at him ignoring a glaring issue pointed out to him by a citizen, which I prefaced with "if true." Hopefully he's not dismissive of the importance of keeping up the airport.

I realize he's brought us new service (some of which we've since lost), but he is in charge of everything, including facility maintenance -- not just recruitment. It's his job.

None of us has the luxury of only doing one major part of our job and having our superiors overlook the glaring deficiencies in another part, at least not where I work.

I don't think he's ignoring the public. Call the OKC Dept. of Airports and ask to speak to him if you are that concerned. There's also an airport trust meeting at 1030am, every 4th Wednesday of the month at City Hall. Address the trust, put them on the spot. Complaining on here and asking for his head really won't change much.

You can also visit the Dept. of Airports in person, they are on the 3rd floor of the Terminal Building. If you are inside the airport and notice something broken, go stop by their office.

You can get to the 3rd floor through the elevator nearest the West Security Checkpoint. Take it to floor 3, and the door will open on the opposite side, make a right turn when you get out of the elevator and the desk will be straight ahead. No SIDA badge required, it's open to the public.

I would also like to mention, it is not a brand new airport. The west concourse is a little over 5 years old now, and the newer parts of the airport are nearing 4 years old.

Escalators and moving sidewalks are also closed for maintenance, which has to be done every so many months.

I think everyone is making a mound out of a molehill here. Mr. Kranenburg and his team are no doubt the best team this city and airport system has ever had. We would be foolish to replace them over something like this. They have a ton of projects they are working on right now, and remember, they are also responsible for Wiley Post, Clarence E. Page, and Will Rogers. The terminal functions, is clean in most areas the public sees, and what is broken, usually gets fixed. Send emails to them and point it out, they will get it fixed. It's not possible for them to look at every single ceiling tile, light fixture, or carpet strand.

They are doing an outstanding job in my opinion, some stuff, yes does get run down. Every day 10,000 people are inside that terminal building. It's bound to get some scuffs.

Not to mention, do you really think these mayors coming in here care about our city? Of course they don't. They aren't looking to move to OKC, or try and suggest OKC to businesses that are based in their town. They care about their town and really just about only there town. A broken ceiling tile won't ruin their impression over the city -- I'd be surprised if they even noticed it. Disagree. Image and perception are everything! There will be many decision makers and PR people mayors and spouses etc.. cleanliness is a key to how residents in their city are. People generally notice this stuff and it is a reflection on OKC and it's people. An unkempt terminal reflects uncaring airport personnel. Why spend $110 million in a makeover of the airport to just have it trashed later.

This is patently absurd. Remember, it's not just mayors visiting, but national media and national policy makers as well. To suggest the opinions of these very influential people are not important to OKC is to miss the entire point of OKC hosting the conference. This is supposed to be a coming out party for OKC. This is PR/Marketing 101.

No one is suggesting Kranenburg be fired for faulty maintenance. My comment was directed at him ignoring a glaring issue pointed out to him by a citizen, which I prefaced with "if true." Hopefully he's not dismissive of the importance of keeping up the airport.

I realize he's brought us new service (some of which we've since lost), but he is in charge of everything, including facility maintenance -- not just recruitment. It's his job.

None of us has the luxury of only doing one major part of our job and having our superiors overlook the glaring deficiencies in another part, at least not where I work. Strongly agree!

I'll go to the airport tomorrow and spend some time looking at this. I am interested in seeing all of this. I never really saw much from the passenger areas. The back areas weren't maintained the best, but it doesn't matter, only a select few saw those areas every day anyway.

If I make it back out there I will try to take pictures of all of this stuff.

Agreed they should maintain the whole place well, but if everyone's primary concern is impressing out-of-towners, the good news is, the vast majority of visitors from out of town never see the parking garage tunnels, etc. where the major problems have been mentioned in this thread.

I used to fly a lot and my "hands down" winner for dirty was IAH(Houston)

I agree about the B terminal, but the E & D terminals are nice. The C and A terminals are old but clean.

Although it would certainly appear that the Airport gets City (taxpayer) money (has its own 18 pg chapter devoted to it in the 09-10 City Budget Report (available for download from OKC.gov, Budget & Finance tab). Don't feel like finding out what those 18 pages of apparent taxpayer money encompass right now.

It also looks like SkyWestOKC is at least technically correct

Will Rogers World Airport (http://www.flyokc.com/index.aspx?page=financing)

I don't know if many people were aware or noticed that the PFC (passenger facilty charge) for Will Rogers was raised within the last couple of months from $3.00 to $4.50. It had been $3.00 ever since that tax, which all airports can charge, began. That means that an extra $1.50 is now added to the cost of an airline ticket for every passenger departing from OKC. That is a 50% increase but I haven't heard anything from the airport or in the media about how that extra money will be utilized.

I don't know if many people were aware or noticed that the PFC (passenger facilty charge) for Will Rogers was raised within the last couple of months from $3.00 to $4.50. It had been $3.00 ever since that tax, which all airports can charge, began. That means that an extra $1.50 is now added to the cost of an airline ticket for every passenger departing from OKC. That is a 50% increase but I haven't heard anything from the airport or in the media about how that extra money will be utilized.

Probably just to cover their rise in cost. Non-story in my opinion. Most airports have charged the max 4.50 for years now. I would say the bigger issue is the amount of tax (outside the PFC) that is collected per ticket. Talk about an over taxed industry.

Probably just to cover their rise in cost. Non-story in my opinion. Most airports have charged the max 4.50 for years now. I would say the bigger issue is the amount of tax (outside the PFC) that is collected per ticket. Talk about an over taxed industry.

That's quite possible but you would think that after so many years with the same tax some mention would have been made about the increase. IAH is $3.00 and had no PFC tax at all for many years. And you're absolutely correct about an overtaxed industry. For some international destinations such as Mexico, the taxes can be almost half of the cost of the tickets. The other taxes, however, have little direct benefit to Will Roger's infrastructure or upkeep.

I agree about the B terminal, but the E & D terminals are nice. The C and A terminals are old but clean.

Thanks for correcting that...yes I did depart from B a lot. Usually B 80 something(gate). The restrooms were what were really dirty. Seattle is clean for a larger airport and I really like Nashville for a smaller one.

A nice, quick, explanatory response from Ms. Carney,

Hello Jeff.

Thanks so much for your email. We do appreciate the input that you and
other citizens provide regarding the airport. I will try to address
some of the key issues that were raised in the thread.

The escalators at Station 2 (the elevator/escalator core from the hourly
parking lot) take quite a beating on a daily basis, as do all of the
escalators and moving sidewalks in the airport. Large pieces of
luggage, bag tags, trash that people drop -- all wreak havoc on the
equipment. The airport does take preventative measures with regularly
scheduled maintenance. On the occasion when the equipment actually
breaks, the service provider responds within one hour of notice.
However, that does not always mean the equipment can be fixed on the
spot. There are times when parts need to be ordered and it may take
several days, even weeks, to repair. The airport and the service
provider are very aware of the urgency of having the equipment
operational and do their best to get it up and running as quickly as
possible.

While we check the areas in the terminal regularly during the day, if no
one reports that the equipment has stopped, we may not know about it
until we make a pass through the area. We encourage all visitors to
report problems to airport personnel, information volunteers or police
so that maintenance or custodial can be contacted right away.

We have had some challenges with water leaks this spring at both Station
2 and at the south entrance to the tunnel (the terminal end.) We did
not want to make repairs until the leaks had been fixed. As I'm sure
you are aware, water leaks can be challenging to resolve but we believe
we have found the source at both locations and repairs have been made.
The wall repair at the south end of the tunnel is in progress and the
ceiling tiles in Station 2 are scheduled to be replaced. I do not have
a firm timetable for that project.

The airport recently entered into an agreement with a new custodial
company, and over the last two months they have been systematically
working their way through the parking garage, tunnel and terminal
building conducting deep cleaning along with their daily cleaning
operations.

We have to agree that the "pothole" is an unacceptable situation. It is
a recurring problem and we have been looking at solutions but in the
meantime the surface should have been repaired. I discussed the issue
with the Director of Airports, and he agreed that it should be fixed
immediately. Work will begin on that this week.

I hope that I have adequately addressed some of your concerns. Please
feel free to give me a call with any other questions or issues and I
will do my best to address them. My direct line is 405-680-3262.

Again, we appreciate you taking the time to let us know your thoughts.
We want our facility to truly be a gateway to Oklahoma City.

Regards,

Karen Carney
Public Information and Marketing Manager

Very nice response.

I will be at the airport saturday. I will take a look around and see how it is looking. Maybe take a few pics if I can of both good and bad.

A nice, quick, explanatory response from Ms. Carney,

Hello Jeff.

Thanks so much for your email. We do appreciate the input that you and
other citizens provide regarding the airport. I will try to address
some of the key issues that were raised in the thread.

The escalators at Station 2 (the elevator/escalator core from the hourly
parking lot) take quite a beating on a daily basis, as do all of the
escalators and moving sidewalks in the airport. Large pieces of
luggage, bag tags, trash that people drop -- all wreak havoc on the
equipment. The airport does take preventative measures with regularly
scheduled maintenance. On the occasion when the equipment actually
breaks, the service provider responds within one hour of notice.
However, that does not always mean the equipment can be fixed on the
spot. There are times when parts need to be ordered and it may take
several days, even weeks, to repair. The airport and the service
provider are very aware of the urgency of having the equipment
operational and do their best to get it up and running as quickly as
possible.

While we check the areas in the terminal regularly during the day, if no
one reports that the equipment has stopped, we may not know about it
until we make a pass through the area. We encourage all visitors to
report problems to airport personnel, information volunteers or police
so that maintenance or custodial can be contacted right away.

We have had some challenges with water leaks this spring at both Station
2 and at the south entrance to the tunnel (the terminal end.) We did
not want to make repairs until the leaks had been fixed. As I'm sure
you are aware, water leaks can be challenging to resolve but we believe
we have found the source at both locations and repairs have been made.
The wall repair at the south end of the tunnel is in progress and the
ceiling tiles in Station 2 are scheduled to be replaced. I do not have
a firm timetable for that project.

The airport recently entered into an agreement with a new custodial
company, and over the last two months they have been systematically
working their way through the parking garage, tunnel and terminal
building conducting deep cleaning along with their daily cleaning
operations.

We have to agree that the "pothole" is an unacceptable situation. It is
a recurring problem and we have been looking at solutions but in the
meantime the surface should have been repaired. I discussed the issue
with the Director of Airports, and he agreed that it should be fixed
immediately. Work will begin on that this week.

I hope that I have adequately addressed some of your concerns. Please
feel free to give me a call with any other questions or issues and I
will do my best to address them. My direct line is 405-680-3262.

Again, we appreciate you taking the time to let us know your thoughts.
We want our facility to truly be a gateway to Oklahoma City.

Regards,

Karen Carney
Public Information and Marketing Manager

Awesome.

That is a very nice response from the Airport. It's nice to see they responded.

I've been critical of the lack of attention paid to some of the facilities. OTOH, when they do things well, that should be noted. I was at WR early this afternoon, dropping someone off at the terminal. I didn't go in, but, the grounds and curbing looked great. The landscaping, all of it, is mowed, trimmed, has been watered and generally looks wonderful. The curbs and street striping is all new and has a very fresh and clean look.

I know the work is probably due to the US Conf.of Mayors convention opening soon, but it great to see anytime it happens. Great job.

I don't think it's due to the mayor conference, it may have something to do with it, however. They stay up with keeping the landscaping up. The only time they slack off is in the winter, naturally. I've seen them working on the landscaping since late February. Guess that's when they replant everything. There was a crew putting some trees and flowers in on Meridian Ave. along the west side of the airport (west of Terminal Dr.), on Wednesday. They will also be resurfacing that road pretty soon, right now it's pretty bad.

They will also be resurfacing that road pretty soon, right now it's pretty bad.

That's putting it mildly. If you try riding a shuttle van on Meridian it's kind of like an amusement park ride.

So I went to the airport to pick up someone again. It seems that's some of the things noted on this thread have been fixed and improved. One moving sidewalk was broken and the parking tower escalator was still making that intense "whacking" noise.

It seemed though that the unfinished drywall patches had been painted. I did not have a chance to go look at the "pothole." Maybe someone else can confirm whther they have observed "fixes."

Folks, you have till Thursday morning to get these issues resolved. The Mayor's Conference attendees will be arriving.

no worries, I'll be renting some horses and offering horse taxi rides to DOKC for the attendees, after all that's what they'll expect, right? I kid, I kid...

Overall, I'm not concerned what they think about our airport. Our airport is nicer than most major airports, and a huge improvement over other airports our size (except Austin, which has a very similar facility). As has been said, it is almost near impossible to keep an airport in 100% shape. The airport has more people in it every day than most every where else in the city. Where else do 10,000 people walk in the same building within a 19 hour period every day, every day of every week, and every week of every year -- in this city?

Given the conditions, I say they do a decent job, but there is always room for improvement.