Viewing page 378 of 507
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM 369 Chicago Midway Airport. Midway Airport, up to 1961, was the world's busiest airport in terms of passengers and numbers of aircraft handled. This title has now been transferred to our Chicago O'Hare International Airport which is located 23 miles northwest of Midway. During the 5-year period 1957-62, our Chicago Helicopter Airways was the largest helicopter carrier in the world. In the year 1960 alone they carried over 309,000 passengers in the Chicago area. Since the unexpected transfer of all fixed-wing traffic to O'Hare in the summer of 1962, the helicopter traffic declined sharply as a result of the abandonment of Midway adn due to the reduction in the helicopter subsidy appropriations available to the Civil Aeronautics Board. I am certain that this is just a temporary situation and that our helicopter carrier will again serve vast numbers of air traffic flowing through Chicago. In this connection, I have personally (along with the majority of our Illinois delegation) written letters to all of the domestic airline presidents whose companies serve Chicago, requesting that they give serious consideration to returning a part of their service to Midway. United Air Lines returned four flights to Midway during July of 1964. Most of the responses to my letters have been encouraging, and I feel confident that we will see further reactivation of Midway in the near future. The service provided by Chicago Helicopter Airways plays an important part in our plans to fully reactivate Midway. Helicopter service is vitally needed in order that Midway will be able to again achieve its full potential as a major air terminal- to serve not only the residents and the people who visit Chicago, but also the high percentage of our Nation's air travelers who use Chicago purely as a connecting and transfer point. My home in Chicago is located just a short distance from Midway Airport, and therefore, I have had numerous opportunities to use the helicopter service to great advantage to expedite my frequent air trips to and from Washington. I wish to also point out that my congressional district contains the largest industrial district in the Nation; namely, the Clearing Industrial District which is located just south of Midway. The many industries that make up this industrial complex are also counting on the immediate redevelopment of Midway and the continuation of Chicago Helicopter Airways which provides the necessary link between Midway and O'Hare. Other than Chicago Helicopter Airways, there is no direct public transportation between these two very important points. I have reviewed from time to time the position that the Civil Aeronautics Board has taken on this matter. As late as February 16, 1965, they issued show-cause orders setting forth a 5-year program that would provide for a declining subsidy through 1970 by which time the Chicago helicopter carrier, as well as New York Airways and Los Angeles Airways are expected to be self-sufficient. I have also noted that when the chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board testified before your committee on March 8, 1965, he once again strongly reaffirmed the Board's position that our Nation's helicopter carriers (New York Airways, Los Angeles Airways and Chicago Helicopter Airways) should be supported by Congress with a positive and forward-looking program. It is my belief that the CAB has studied this matter in great detail and that the 5-year helicopter program they have worked out should be given an affirmative vote by all Members of the Congress. I hope your committee concurs with my feelings on this important matter. --- STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN DANIEL D. ROSTENKOWSKI BEFORE THE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE WITH REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT AND POTENTIAL HELICOPTER OPERATIONS My name is Dan Rostenkowski, Representative from the Eighth Congressional District of Illinois which comprises and area in the northwest section of the city of Chicago. I have been authorized to represent the majority of the Illinois delegation to advise you of the great concern that we regarding the possibility of the discontinuation of scheduled helicopter service provided by Chicago Helicopter Airways. It is my understanding that if the Congress does not appropriate funds to at least meet the 5-year helicopter program which has been advanced by the Civil Aeronautics Board that the three carriers involved--Chicago Helicopter Airways,
