V: Airports ‘‘No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.’ - Orville Wright, 1871-1948 PNS photo Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2019-2020 – 60 Chapter V - Airports Growth in airports, economy In an era when the region Chapter at a glance is growing its aviation • More than 40 commercial and general activities, airports with aviation airports dot the region • Mobile begins to shift commercial their runways play a service to downtown airport particularly valuable role • Pensacola airport becomes a key play in maintenance, repair and overhaul • ancock County wants to position Region’s runways are a magnet for itself as Mississippi’s Space Coast aerospace and aviation companies by turning Stennis International • One airport seeking federal designation Airport into a spaceport. as a spaceport H It already invested $35 million in infrastructure improvements this past year, including buying nearly 1,200 acres to prevent encroachment and Every airport can lay claim to something that add more land for aerospace and aviation devel- sets it apart. One is the largest, one has an air opment. combat training center, one is among the na- Hancock County Port and Harbor Commis- tion’s newest, one has three runways. sion (HCPHC) revealed its plan in April for And growth is underway. At Pensacola Inter- strengthening South Mississippi’s economy. national Airport (PNS), a huge project is under- “Few communities can boast and offer space- way to increase the size of its maintenance, re- exploration assets like ours,” said Bill Cork, pair and overhaul activity from one hangar to CEO of HCPHC. “Private companies are begin- four. ning to take advantage of those amenities. We In Mobile, a project is underway to shift com- were thrilled to see major announcements from mercial flights from Mobile Regional Airport to top-tier commercial space and aviation compa- the Mobile Downtown Airport at the Aeroplex nies here in our community. Each announce- at Brookley, where Airbus is located. ment further solidifies our position as Missis- These airports range from multi-runway com- sippi’s Space Coast.” mercial airports with scheduled flights and cargo Hancock economic leaders have already ap- service to small airfields used by weekend pilots plied for a spaceport license from the Federal and sky divers. The mix includes military run- Aviation Administration called the “Launch Site ways used by training aircraft, as well as the most Operator License.” lethal, advanced, high-tech aircraft the world has It is just one example of the importance to the ever seen. The largest aircraft in the world can economy from the unique airports that dot the use some of them. Interstate 10 corridor along the Gulf Coast. All of the airports are economic engines. Photo page 60 : One plane lands while another sits on the ground at Pensacola International Airport. Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2019-2020 – 61 Chapter V - Airports While some have a reach that’s primarily local, busiest after New Orleans. Some years back he others have an impact well beyond their local said the timing was right for the region’s air- area. They generate revenue and jobs, and have a ports, Pensacola in particular. ripple effect on businesses that have nothing to He was apparently right. His successor at the do with aviation. And with economic develop- airport, Pensacola native Dan Flynn, has been at ment professionals looking to draw more aero- the helm when some pretty amazing changes space and aviation activities to the region, air- occurred for the airport, changes that in the long ports are some of the most important magnets. run will be good for the flying public. In Florida alone, airports had a $175 billion The airport now houses ST Engineering Aero- total impact on the state’s economy, reported a space, which built a $46 million, 173,000-square- 2019 study by the Florida Department of Trans- foot maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility portation. It includes the combined aviation- (MRO). Originally opening in Mobile in 1991, it related activities, like on-airport activity, visitor expanded with a second facility in Pensacola. spending, industry reliance and military spend- Now it’s adding three more hangars. ing. District 3 that includes 15 Northwest Flor- Pensacola’s airport is putting fresh emphasis ida counties generated $9 billion from the avia- on the more than 350 acres available for devel- tion industry, the study said. opment that can be used to attract more aero- For the aerospace-focused Gulf Coast region, space operations to the westernmost city in Flor- they have an immediate impact on the economy ida. It opened 191 acres of property with direct and each has the potential to grow the economy airside access for industrial sized hangars and even more. aprons along the newly refurbished taxiways and runways. Commercial airport assets In June 2018, PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of The most high-profile of the airports are the American Airlines, said it would open a new commercial facilities found in the primary cities. maintenance facility at the Pensacola airport and There are eight from Baton Rouge, La., to Talla- create some 30-35 jobs and support PSA's ef- hassee, Fla., that first and foremost address the forts to grow its fleet by about 20 aircraft. PSA needs of business, military and leisure travelers. said PNS was an ideal location for the new facil- In 2012, the latest figures available from the ity because the area provides a sustainable work- Federal Aviation Administration, those eight force, a strong local military presence and an airports enplaned a combined 7,239,924 passen- abundance of technical schools. gers - more than the population of Washington In May 2019, Blue Air Training, which pro- state but less than Virginia. vides training for military close air support per- But there’s another role that’s becoming in- sonnel, opened a facility at PNS. Founder and creasingly apparent as economic development CEO James "Chef" Barlow says they have more officials start leveraging the spotlight that the than 20 employees in Pensacola now, but he’s Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala., has put on the re- looking to grow that number. In 2011, Blue Air gion. With their stretches of runways and aircraft Training received approval to train Air Force services, they’re on the front line. attack controllers and fighter pilots. Its fleet in- “Airports serve as a front door to a commu- cludes A-90 Raiders, BAC-167 Strikemasters, nity and our runways are some of the most im- IAR-823 Brasovs and AH-6 Little Birds. portant stretches of pavement in the region,” What do new tenants mean for the flying pub- said Greg Donovan, Orlando Melbourne Inter- lic? They diversify the airport’s revenue base. national Airport, who previously headed Pensa- The more income that can be generated from cola International Airport, the region’s second sources other than the airlines, the better the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2019-2020 – 62 Chapter V - Airports assembly line that opened in 2015 with plans to add a $224 million A220 line by 2020. Pensacola, 60 miles to the east of Mobile, ex- pects some of that spillover and has begun to improve its front door appeal with a 127-room hotel, an urgent care center and other land for commercial development. Northwest Florida economic leaders say an operation as big as Airbus has not been seen be- fore in the region. They predict it will benefit Pensacola, Northwest Florida and the whole Gulf Coast aerospace corridor. chance for keeping their rate base from landing Cargo is also getting fresh emphasis. It built a fees and other rents low. $5 million cargo apron with FAA and FDOT ST Engineering Aerospace currently add about funds to accommodate UPS, based in Louisville, $260,000 a year in ground rent. Each additional Ky., and others large cargo carriers. hangar will increase the annual payment by The Pensacola cargo center improvements will about a quarter-of-a-million dollars. also facilitate two regional air freight operators, “That helps offset fees that we would other- while giving the airport much needed capacity to wise have to charge the airlines. … So from the meet Florida’s Trade and Logistics Plan expecta- pure revenue side, its just wonderful.” tions. Flynn said the addition of the MRO can be leveraged by the airport as another feature that To the east of Pensacola near Panama City, may interest airlines. Fla., is one of the newest airports in the nation, “So it aides us in our air service development Northwest Florida Beaches International Air- efforts when we go to an airline and we say, ‘hey port. What separates this new airport from the you know we have these things to offer at Pen- rest in the region is the amount of land that’s sacola and by the way, we also have this mainte- available in and around the facility. There’s so nance facility who contracts with you and others much that the airport is expected to be able to that now has a presence on the airport,’” Flynn meet air travel demands for the next 50 years. said. Meanwhile, service at the airport is increasing. In February 2019 Silver Airways began nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood In- ternational Airport and PNS. “The commence- ment of direct service to Ft. Lauderdale and the South Florida area provides another link to one of the Pensacola Gulf Coast Region’s top ten market areas and important connecting opportu- nities on the Silver network to Key West and the Bahamas,” said Flynn. And there’s good reason to come to the table. Mobile by itself cannot handle all that will even- tually result from the $600 million A320 final Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor 2019-2020 – 63 Chapter V - Airports It was in the late 1990s that the airport author- Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport photo ity started looking at ways to increase air traffic to the tourist destination.