|
NEWS November 3, 2009 |
Contact: Linda Shotwell or Rusty Ayers, ALPA |
Air
Line Pilots Association Presents Annual
“Airport of the Year” Award to San José
SAN JOSE, CA – The Air Line Pilots Association,
International (ALPA), presented its annual “Airport of the Year”
award to Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) at the San
José City Council meeting today.
Capt. Reno Morella of Hawaiian Airlines presented the award for 2008 to San José Mayor Chuck Reed on behalf of ALPA in recognition of SJC’s efforts to address pilot concerns throughout its multiyear $1.3 billion airport modernization program. Capt. Morella, who serves as ALPA’s airport safety liaison at SJC, also nominated San José for the award, which was announced in August at ALPA’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. “As pilots we greatly appreciate San José’s open planning approach,” said Morella. SJC extended an open invitation to airline pilots in 2006 to attend planning meetings regarding its extensive terminal improvements, airport operations and safety, and long-term planning related to corporate/general aviation |
Captain Reno Morella of Hawaiian Airlines presents the 'Airport of the Year' award to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed on behalf of the Air Line Pilots Association |
“As a downtown airport, San José also is taking the appropriate steps to ensure safe operations in the airspace beyond the airport’s boundaries,” he said.
ALPA cited the airport for its efforts to include the perspective of airline pilots in the city’s ongoing review of the potential effects of high-rise development in downtown San José on the future operations of the airport.
“Our strong partnership with pilots and carriers is essential to meeting our top priority commitment to the safety of our passengers, aircraft, and community,” said Bill Sherry, SJC director. “The active engagement of airline pilots has been especially valuable to help us plan and protect our community’s significant investment for Silicon Valley’s future.”
ALPA selects the Airport of the Year from nominations made by its regional airport safety coordinators and airport safety liaisons at more than 200 commercial airports in the U.S. and Canada. Nominations can range from small regional airports to the world’s busiest, but all nominees share a common commitment to the highest safety standards.
“We were impressed that the airport sought our input and solicited comments from all the air carriers operating out of San José,” said Capt. Steve Jangelis, chairman of ALPA’s Airport and Ground Environment Group. “This spirit of teamwork and collaboration encourages us to feel that airline pilots can pick up the phone and call them with any concerns—safety or otherwise—and receive a prompt and thoughtful response.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA (www.alpa.org) is the world’s largest pilots union, representing nearly 54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada.
Mineta San
José International Airport is a self-supporting enterprise owned
and operated by the City of San José. SJC served 9.7 million passengers
in 2008 and currently has approximately 140 daily flights on 13 domestic
and international carriers to 27 nonstop destinations. The airport is
located in San José, the capital of Silicon Valley, California’s
third- largest city and the nation’s tenth-largest city (population
1,007,000). For more airport information, visit www.flysanjose.com.
-SJC-
1732 N. First Street, Suite 600, San José, CA 95112-4538 24 Hour Media Line: 408.501.7700