Jackman airport to extend runway, better handle air ambulance, with $3.2M grant

Courtesy / Town of Jackman Jackman, in the Moose River Valley region of Somerset County and about 15 miles from the Canadian border, may soon have a longer airport runway to accommodate air ambulance service.

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By Staff

Newton Field, a general aviation airport in Jackman, will receive $3.2 million in federal funds to extend the runway and better accommodate air ambulance service.

The funding award, from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, was announced last week in a news release from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Newton Field has one runway, an asphalt strip 2,900 feet long, as well as a turf helipad. The field, which is owned by the town of 686, serves about 70 aircraft a week and houses 10.

In May, the airport was awarded $1.05 million from the program for the first phase of the runway project.

“While the realities of health care finance may not support an advanced medical facility in a community like Jackman, LifeFlight can help fill that void with a runway that allows a flying hospital to arrive right where it is needed, and on a moment’s notice,” said Joshua Dickson, aviation systems coordinator for LifeFlight of Maine, in the release.

LifeFlight, a nonprofit air ambulance service, makes over 2,200 flights a year throughout the state carrying seriously ill or injured patients, 25% of whom have experienced major trauma. In 2019, the service has touched down in over 100 Maine communities, usually to fly patients to a hospital in Bangor, Lewiston or Portland, or sometimes in Boston.

“Maine’s airports are vital pieces of our state’s infrastructure that play a critical role not only in transportation and job creation, but also to provide medical services for those in rural communities in emergencies when seconds count,” Collins said.

“This funding will allow Newton Field Airport to make much-needed improvements to their runway, enhancing the safety and efficiency of operations and benefiting residents and visitors to Jackman.”

The Airport Improvement Program, established in 1982, is budgeted to provide $3.8 billion in the 2020 fiscal year for infrastructure improvements at U.S. airports. In the most recent round of program funding, Brunswick Executive Airport and Presque Isle International Airport received a total of $3.1 million.