WEST BAY — Passenger traffic at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport increased last month, a success officials attributed to efforts from area tourist development councils (TDCs) to extend the tourist season into the fall.
“The TDCs, both Bay or (Panama City Beach) and the South Walton TDCs, have done an excellent job this year expanding the shoulder season,” said airport Executive Director Parker McClellan. “For those of you that live on the beach, you’ve noticed there was a lot more people than there has been historically.”
October passenger traffic was up about 6 percent when compared with the same month last year, officials reported at the monthly Airport Authority meeting Wednesday. In total, the airport welcomed 70,631 commercial passengers last month.
“The operations are up, the enplanements are up and we’re doing extremely well,” McClellan said. “Year over year, we’re still flat, but that’s OK.”
Year-to-date passenger traffic remained roughly the same, showing a slight decline of 0.16 percent, officials reported.
However, McClellan said passenger load factors for the airport’s two commercial airlines continue to show Panama City Beach is a successful market for the companies. Both Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines reported load factors above 80 percent last month.
Officials also briefly discussed the new service on United Airlines set to begin early next year. United’s regional branch, United Express, will begin offering twice-daily service to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on March 5.
With March quickly approaching, McClellan said the board likely will need to call a special meeting in December to finalize an incentive agreement with the airline and address space issues in the airport terminal.
Board Chairman Till Bruett urged board members to spread the word about the new service, driving the point “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”
“We’ve got the service; we’ve got the airlines. Now it’s up to us to use it,” Bruett said.
EDA presentation
During Wednesday’s meeting, the board also heard from Becca Hardin, who will assume the position as interim director of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance in January. Current EDA Director Neal Wade announced his resignation earlier this month.
Hardin said one of the biggest draws for her in taking the Bay County job was the airport and its surrounding parcels, which she said will be key for economic development in the coming years.
“This is the jewel,” Hardin said, referencing a photo of the airport’s 10,000-foot runway and several sites in the St. Joe Co. commercial development Venture Crossings. “You really, truly have shovel-ready sites.”
Hardin said the EDA now plans to launch an aggressive marketing campaign to raise awareness in the aviation industry about what the area has to offer.
“Our goal is, we’ve got to get people here,” Hardin said. “We’re going to put Bay County on the map.”
In other business, the board also approved a $297,000 task order from engineering firm ZHA for the preparation of design and bid documents for 17 projects to repair flood damage from a late April storm.
The task order also includes submission of a project reimbursement request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the projects, which are estimated at $3.8 million. Officials anticipate FEMA will cover 87.5 percent of the total project cost, leaving the airport responsible for $37,125.