b'66 FFZRUNWAYSFalcon Field Executes Trioof Airfield ImprovementsBY MICHELLE GARDNERYears of increasing traffic havePhoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) andThe new taxiway was designed to made Falcon Field Airport (FFZ)Mesa Gateway (AZA).bypass that bottleneck and improve in Mesa, AZ, one of the busiestMany of the flight training schoolsthe air traffic control towers workload. general aviation airports in the Unitedlocated on the south side of the airportMoreover, decreasing the amount States, with annual operations nowuse Runway 4L-22R, the northernmostof time aircraft spend idling on the exceeding 400,000. To alleviate associatedflight training runway. However, to accessrunway reduces fuel burn. So there are growing pains, the airport added a newit, aircraft had to travel north and crossenvironmental as well as efficiency gains taxiway, relocated two existing taxiwaysRunway 4R-22L, taxiing head-to-headfrom this taxiway, Gibbs says. and reconstructed a large aircraft parkingwith southbound aircraft also trying toDuring this project, the airport also rampall during 2024. In total, the city- cross the runway. This caused congestion,performed work to comply with the latest owned airport has recently made more thandelays and the potential for ground trafficedition of Advisory Circular 150/5300-$5 million in airside improvements, largelyincidents at the runway ends. 13B, which includes a safety measure for funded with federal and state grants.taxiway layouts to prevent direct access The airport has already designed and is Airport Projectsplanning to construct a new high-speedfrom an apron onto a runway. To update and Operationstaxiway for landings to the west (ontaxiways constructed to previous AC Manager Mark Gibbs,Runway 22R). It will be Taxiway F.standards, project designers relocated A.A.E., explainstaxiways D7 and D8 so aircraft on the that adding TaxiwayThe recently completed Taxiway G is aapron to the south cannot directly roll G will help FFZhigh-speed, exit-only taxiway that reducesout onto a runway. They have to make better utilize its tworunway occupancy time for aircraftright- and left-hand turns, which would runways, 4L-22R andtraveling south, which, in turn, reducesslow their traffic and hopefully make the MARK GIBBS the traffic congestion at the end taxiway 4R-22L. In additionpilot situationally aware that they are to accommodating its own diverse mixthat connects both runways.approaching a runway environment, of traffic, the airport is also a reliever forGibbs explains. July | August 2025AirportImprovement.com'