WESTFIELD–Residents may soon see more helicopters flying in and out of Barnes Regional Airport.
Barnes Regional Airport received a proposal from Air Methods, a national medical air transport company, to lease a 6.5 acre plot of land on airport property. Air Methods would utilize the area as a base of operations in Western Massachusetts to perform air medical evacuations and other transport services in the area.
Aerial view of the proposed location (photo provided by Joe Mitchell)
The area of the site is at the southern end of the runway at 89 Sgt. Dion Way, which is near the Massachusetts State Police barracks and the Massachusetts Turnpike. The location has no homes directly adjacent to it.
Joe Mitchell, Westfield’s city advancement officer, said that the proposal includes Air Methods taking over an existing hangar and lot, but would need to perform some construction to the area for it to be complete.
However, Lee Lancaster, Barnes Regional Airport’s interim manager, said that the construction would not include a helipad or heliport, which would mean no additional OK would be needed from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Closer view of the proposed location (photo provided by Joe Mitchell)
Mitchell said that the potential contract would be a three-year lease, with a possible two-year extension. However, he was unable to specify the specifics of the extension and was also unable to give a price of a contract currently under negotiation.
Prior to the interest expressed by Air Methods in the lot, it had remained vacant for over a year. The lot was previously occupied by the Cersosimo Lumber Company, who maintained the property under a four-year lease.
If negotiations are successful, the inclusion of Air Methods would open the door for further non-fixed wing air traffic for the airport, which could give it another potential income source. Air Methods currently operates over 450 aircraft, most of which are helicopters. They were founded in 1980 and operate 300 bases of operations in 48 states.
