Aviation program managers Vasey Aviation Group will oversee the management services for the developing two-gate commercial airport in Gulf Shores that will begin hosting Allegiant Air service on May 21.
Vasey Aviation Group, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., was awarded a $150,000 contract by the Gulf Shores City Council on Monday, for services the company’s representatives will provide to the city for the next six months. The contract runs to July 2.
“They are experts in aviation project management, especially in regard to terminal development projects,” said Jesse Fosnaugh, director of the Gulf Shores Airport Authority. “They will have a full-time presence here in Gulf Shores and drive to completion the many elements necessary to finish a project of this magnitude.”
Andrew Vasey, president of the company who has over 39 years of airport development experience, was not immediately available for comment.
Vasey, according to his biography, has led program management teams for numerous airports and airlines across the U.S. That includes serving as program manager for a $1 billion terminal project in Indianapolis and as the program and owner’s representative for the planning, design, construction, and startup operations for a $160 million privately financed greenfield airport in Branson, Mo.
In Gulf Shores, a short time frame faces city officials and the airport authority ahead of the first Allegiant flights, announced in November.
The Las Vegas-based airline announced four seasonal destinations beginning in May, while two – Cincinnati via the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and the St. Louis region via MidAmerican Airport in Belleville, Ill. – are year-round destinations.
The flights will take off from an $8 million temporary, two-gate terminal that is currently under construction. The Gulf Shores City Council authorized a $3 million loan to support the terminal’s construction in August. Approximately $5 million of its funding came from the Biden Administration’s signature policy proposal called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
Support services like car rentals are still evolving, and other services are needed to firm up ahead of the airport’s opening.
It’s a unique situation for Gulf Shores and for the airline industry. An Allegiant official admitted last month that it is rare for the airline to announce new destinations coinciding the same time a city and airport authority was beginning commercial aviation services.
“Many moving pieces need to come together in short order to bring this over the finish line, and Vasey Aviation Group has done this successfully many times over,” Fosnaugh said.
He said the goal is to have the operations ready to go by May 21, when the inaugural Allegiant Air flight departs from Gulf Shores.
“It will be a great day for this community,” Fosnaugh said.
Commercial airlines have never operated from Gulf Shores International Airport – formerly Jack Edwards National Field. The city has owned the airport since 1983. The airport has long mainly served private charter flights and is considered one of the busiest in the state.
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