General Aviation Airports have received no mandates regarding security. However, we must remain vigilant in order to protect our industry and ourselves. The Spirit of St. Louis Airport strives do everything possible to improve security while keeping the interest of our users front and foremost.
Spirit of St. Louis Airport's completion of the security-fencing project, which encloses the approach area to runway 26L and several interior areas, not only improves security, but also lessens the possibility of vehicle and wildlife incursions by limiting access. The Airport has also developed a plan for a "LOCAL CODE RED" security level. This portion of our security program will only be put into effect if the St. Louis area is under a specific threat. Hopefully, this will never occur; however, if it should, the police will be required to limit airport access and set up a temporary security checkpoint. Gates have been installed on the east end of Edison Avenue just west of Goddard, which would be closed during this type of situation. All vehicles entering the Airport would be required to enter on Spirit Boulevard and pass through the checkpoint. Again, this would only occur if the St. Louis area were placed on a "LOCAL CODE RED" security level. Finally, the airport has had a well-known security company install surveillance cameras on the premises which encompass the entire airport property.
We are very proud of our security program and appreciate the support of the entire Spirit community. The core of our program is our police force.
The Airport continues to strive for excellence in safety. We are very proud of the fact that we have had six straight years with ZERO discrepancies found during our annual FAA Airport Safety Inspections. This is something that very few airports can claim. For the sixth straight year, Spirit Airport has received the FAA Safety Enhancement Award. In order to be eligible to receive this award, an airport must have three straight years without any safety infractions. Therefore, Spirit received back to back FAA Safety Enhancement Awards, which is something most airports do not achieve. Spirit also received the Safety Enhancement Award in 1994.
John Bales, Director of Aviation, received the award at the 22nd FAA Central Region Airport Conference.
The Spirit of St. Louis Airport takes the safety and security of its users very seriously and will continue to strive for excellence in these areas. For additional information contact John Bales at 636-532-2222.