Aiport News & Press Releases

The paving work to lengthen the Santa Maria Public Airport's main runway is about to take off. John Smith, project manager with Tartaglia Engineering, said the pavement, which should begin being laid on Monday, is the icing of a 1,700-foot long, 150-foot wide, 55-inch thick layer cake. Crews from Granite Construction, the general contractor on …

  U.S. Navy Corpsman David Oliver get a big welcome Dec. 8 from Dover, official mascot for Welcome Home Troops, a Central Coast group that welcomes service members returning from deployment.  Jo Hartman of Orcutt, center, and her therapy dog were at the Santa Maria Public Airport to welcome Oliver home after his tour in …

Union Valley Parkway will provide freeway access to southern Santa Maria, and Airport. Santa Barbara County has about 30 percent of the right of way in hand for the final section of Union Valley Parkway, and is negotiating with Walmart to purchase the remainder.  The retail giant owns three of five parcels necessary to complete …

Tight budgets will ground some Air Force aircraft that traditionally appear in smaller air shows, but the organizer of Thunder Over the Valley in Santa Maria retains high hopes of landing an F-22 demonstration team and other military aircraft in 2012. The Air Force’s Air Combat Command has announced a reduction of single-ship demonstration teams …

Family, friends, strangers and one special dog gathered at the Santa Maria Public Airport on Thursday afternoon to welcome home Navy corpsman David Oliver. Barbara Romero of Orcutt said her son had one simple request.  "He said,'I just want to see my dog,'" she said as the yellow-haired Sly tugged at his leash while standing …

The P2E Neptune air tanker sitting recently on the tarmac at the Santa Maria Jet Center won't be a permanent fixture - even when a full-time tanker reload base opens at the airport next fire season.  It's one of a federal fleet of air tankers that fly to bases across the country when they're needed …

SkyWest passengers arrive Monday at the Santa Maria Public Airport from Los Angeles. More than 42.5 million Americans are expected to travel during this Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving holiday travelers might want to add a few items to their checklist this year: an umbrella, a raincoat and, if they’re driving, maybe some new windshield wipers. The …

A bit of Stuttgart has come to Santa Maria. Over much of the next two weeks, German car-maker Porsche is making its all-new 2012  911 Carrera available for the first time to the world’s automotive press at the Central Coast Jet Center on the south side of the Santa Maria Public Airport. The event places …

A federal air tanker reload base at Santa Maria Airport, which allows immediate access to retardant in case of a wildfire, will be fully operational throughout next year's declared fire season, Los Padres National Forest officials announced today. U.S. Forest Service officials and the Association of Santa Barbara Fire Chiefs have been working on an …