BANNING

City officials are considering hiring a private company to augment services at the Banning Municipal Airport.

The city wants to attract more planes to the airport, said Banning Public Works Director Duane Burk.

Tuesday night, the Banning City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, approved hiring a firm C&S Companies of San Diego to help find a fixed-base operator, an airport services company that would provide one or more services at the airport, such as 24-hour fueling.

The city will pay C&S Companies up to $36,237 for its services.

Burk said in an interview that among 11 municipal airports in the area, Banning is the only one that doesn't utilize a fixed-base operator. If the city contracts with an operator, it would be expected to invest capital into the airport and in return would share revenue with the city, Burk said.

The city wants 24-hour fueling, hangars and aviation assistance at the airport. Burk said the city's in-house resources are limited.

The Banning Municipal Airport dates to the 1940s and has 54 hangars, seven of which are vacant because they're not fit for modern airplanes, Burk said.