Airspace closure hearing set for June 1

MOSES LAKE — The Port of Moses Lake will hold a public hearing on Friday, June 1, to consider a request from the Air Force to temporarily close Grant County airspace for training.

The Air Force says it needs to test the ability of its new KC-47 tanker to evade surface-to-air missiles.

“After an extensive search of areas with adjacent surfaces clear of trees and other line-of-sight obstacles, we have concluded that Grant County International Airport (GCIA) and the Port of Moses Lake offers a unique test venue,” wrote Craig Deyerlie, an Air Force testing specialist at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida.

“Grant County International Airport also offers a free of controlled airspace for the flight test,” he wrote.

The Air Force is requesting the closure of airspace and access to GCIA “for several hours during a two-day period” as planes maneuver at low altitude and vehicles on the ground also move around the airfield to simulate missile fire.

The proposal would involving closing the airport and the airspace for two four-hour blocks on Saturday, June 17, and again on Sunday, June 18, with an hour-long break in between.