"Opinion: Airports are best run by the people who do the flying"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Opinion
Lee Larder: Airports are best run by the people who do the flying
Charlotte advised to keep experts in charge at Beach
The Lansing State Journal


What does Fitch H. Beach Airport in Charlotte mean to you? It creates jobs,
saves lives, helps enforce the laws of the land, is a terminal destination
for passengers, freight, and mail: and lowers the cost of food, clothing,
pharmaceuticals, and more. It may be a starting point for search and rescue.

The airport can be considered one or Charlotte's principal resource because
what the airport does best is serve people who don't fly.

An airport, regardless of size, is a community's access point to our
nation's major mode of transportation. An airport serves the same basic
purpose as the river harbor of a century ago or the train station of a
generation ago. Increasingly, Americans travels by air, and having an
airport in a community is like finding an oil well in your backyard.

An airport is a vital part of the local economy. In many communities -
Charlotte's is a fine example - the airport is close to an industrial park,
chosen by a lot of businesses or corporations because of the proximity to
the airport.

General aviation airports like Beach play a vital role in the health of the
nation's economy, employing 537,000 and earning more than $13 billion
annually. But the economic benefits of a general aviation airport go far
beyond direct jobs and salaries.

A study conducted recently for Virginia is applicable to other states. It
found:

   . Each dollar spent by aviation and/or aviation-dependent businesses
generates an additional $1.52 in economic activity.

   . For every job at the airport, nearly three are created in the
visitor-related economy.

   . Visitors arriving by air spend about $70 a day while in the area.

   . Airport development projects produces an impact on the economy that is
25 times the amount contributed from state and local funds.

And these studies do not begin to address the social contributions to a
region, such as med-vac rescue helicopters, which often operate out of
smaller general aviation airports - and which have saved the lives of a
number of Eaton County residents. Wings of Mercy also used general aviation
airports to transfer people in need to other hospitals.

General aviation airports provide a vital service to a nation dependent on
air transportation. Of the 17,600 landing facilities in the United States,
the air carriers serve 388 on a scheduled basis. Communities are dependent
on their local airport for the access to the nation's transportation system.

Is the city of Charlotte ready to operate the fixed base operation at the
airport? Let's leave this complex and difficult job to the aviators, and let
the airport flourish.

Air travel buys Americans the nonnegotiable item that we all need more of -
time. And airports are the focal point for accessing air travel. Coupled
with tremendous social and economic benefits it provides, an airport is a
valuable local resource and a vital gateway to the national transportation
system.

On the web:

Determining Your Airports Economic Impact
http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcforum/dcforumid11/27.html



   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php

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