Operations

With realignment, the AFRES reduced the annual number of military operations at March ARB to 51,426. Projected civilian (air cargo) operations capacity, under the current State Implementation Plan (SIP), is denoted in the table below.

Currently, MIP realizes less than 4,000 operations per year. Airspace at MIP is unconstrained due to location of other airports, and orientation of Runway 14/32 with respect to flight tracks and patterns. Furthermore, MIP is in the Hemet Sector of the Southern California TRACON, which can handle 25-30 IFR flights per hour.

Southern California Air Cargo Demand
Compared to past years when air cargo was carried primarily in the belly holds of passenger aircraft, most regional air cargo is now transported by dedicated all- cargo freighters. Cargo carried by freighter is estimated to range from about 60% to 64%, depending on the season. MIP has the capability and facilities to accommodate cargo operations. The vast growth in warehouse/distribution facilities in Riverside County, primarily the Cities of Moreno Valley and Perris, proved to make MIP a viable goods movement facility for import/export businesses coming to the region, especially those within the March JPA Foreign Trade Zone.

International air cargo handling capacity in the region is a particular problem. Delays during peak periods are continuing to mount at LAX, mainly because of a shortage of ramp space, on-airport warehouse space, and peak-period lift capacity. Even with substantial improvements assumed to be made pursuant to the ongoing LAX Master Plan Study, it is highly doubtful that LAX and highways will handle the tremendous growth in international air cargo volume that is forecast over the next twenty years, most of which growth will come from the Inland Empire.

Many existing air carrier airports lack the space to accommodate the extensive warehousing, manufacturing, and intermodal facilities that are associated with state-of- the-art cargo-handling airports. MIP has the land and ability to construct high-tech manufacturing/distribution centers with intermodal capabilities, or “inland port.”