... and a common thread of optimism. It was a great way to start off the New Year – visiting airports in Mobile, Panama City, and Gulfport-Biloxi this week for upcoming feature coverage in AIRPORT BUSINESS magazine.
Three airports; three different story angles. At Mobile, they’re undergoing an intensive economic development campaign, with the airport at its core. At Panama City, it’s the new airport under construction – but this stands out as an environmental story. And at Gulfport-Biloxi, it’s about retaining and attracting air service in a community which today has a large casino presence and which has impressively rebuilt itself following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Above all, officials at all three facilities are optimistic about their airports, their communities, and their futures — despite the depressing economic news all around us. The mission is to keep moving forward with an eye on the road ahead, perhaps a message we all need to keep top of mind these days.
Bruce Frallic, A.A.E., executive director at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, admits to being an eternal optimist. He just lost AirTran service this week, after the carrier was unable to reach a new agreement with local casinos that was the basis for the flights. Frallic says he’s already recovered half that service with additional flight announcements from Delta and US Airways, and he expects to recover the rest with agreements that are in negotiation.
At Mobile, new executive director Bill Sisson came on board in October after heading up economic development locally and oversees Mobile Regional Airport and the Downtown Airport (formerly Brookley Army Air Field). The airport authority lured him away to heighten the role economic development plays in future airport plans. The Brookley Complex already hosts an impressive array of companies, but they’re not done yet. The proposed Airbus refueler for the U.S. military will be based at Brookley, should the European OEM be re-awarded the contract in 2009.
Randy Curtis, A.A.E., executive director at Panama City/Bay County International Airport, is enthusiastic about the positive impact the new facility will have on air service, unhindered by the airfield restrictions of the old airport. But, environmentally, this could serve as a model on how an airport and government agencies can work together to create a “net positive impact†on the environment when building new facilities. Then there’s the agreement with TSA and the U.S. Navy to use the new airport as a test facility for new security technology that the department researches nearby.
While the general media likes to give the impression that the sky is falling, there is still good news in the airport biz.
Thanks for reading. jfi