GeorgeC1 said:
I have flown in and out of Aspen many times. The minimums are very high because of the terrain. Normally a standard ILS can proceed down to 200 feet above the runway altitude. At Aspen the minimum decent altitude is 2383 feet above the runway. That means the airfield has to be above normal VFR minimums to land. If it's not you go to Denver and the people are bussed up to Aspen. Bussing people from SJU will not be a option.
You also over look that a normal glidepath angle can be flown into the Aspen runway. That is not possible at EIS unless they change the runway orientation which has been discussed but is very expensive.
It's possible a curved approach using GPS could be constructed however I question if it can be done and meet the TERPS criteria if it has not already been done. It's not expensive since ground based equipment is not required.
"Bussing people from SJU will not be a option."
Or STT as the backup with some type of ferry charter using resources in place for the cruise ship passengers.....
To me the larger risk would be the plane or planes not ready at EIS for the outbound passengers. Over the years more than once poor weather cancelled the AA flights to and from EIS for the day. Just like when it happens in BOS, Chicago, PHL or so many places we survived until air travel returned to normal. The key is direct jet service to most of the large East Coasts MSA on most days of the year. Direct jet service is table stakes for the 21st Century hospitality markets.
