COVINGTON, Ga. - The proposed widening and extension of the runway at the Covington Municipal Airport will make taking off and landing at the airport safer, according to airport manager John King.

King said the wider runway will be safer for planes taking off and landing.

“Increasing the width from 75 feet to 100 feet gives more room during adverse conditions,” he said.

King said in an email the 500 foot runway extension will be on the east end of the runway, extending toward Hwy. 142. He said it will allow planes more take-off distance but the airport’s landing distance will remain the same.  He also said it will not allow for bigger aircraft.

“The extension will not allow bigger aircraft but the same size that fly in now. The 500’ extension will be a displaced threshold which means planes will only have the same 5500’ to land but will have 6000’ to take off which means they can get more fuel.”

King said even though the extra 500 feet can’t be used for landing, it does provide more runway for a plane that might have trouble stopping after landing.

In addition to allowing planes to take on more fuel, King said the extra runway will allow planes, depending on their load, 500 feet more distance to get in the air before they pass over the City of Oxford.

King said a majority of the time the wind at the airport blows west to east meaning planes take off heading east to west into the wind. He said flights headed south are advised to turn north after take off and circle back over the airport before heading south in order to try to minimize the impact on Oxford.

King said the Covington airport is classified as an uncontrolled air field. It averages 30 flights a day, including student pilots flying in. Local corporations such as Shire and Becton Dickinson (formerly Bard) also have planes that utilize the airport.