Community Corner

Why Delta Air Lines Opposes Paulding Airport

This is a letter written last month to Paulding County Board of Commissioners Chairman, David Austin, by Holden Shannon, Senior Vice President – Corporate Strategy & Real Estate Delta Air Lines.

Dear Mr. Austin: 

I am writing in response to your Nov. 15 letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson regarding the effort to transform Paulding County airport from a general aviation facility to a full commercial service airport.

Delta’s interest in this matter is to safeguard metro Atlanta’s most powerful economic engine – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Over the past seven decades, Hartsfield-Jackson has evolved into the world’s busiest airport, with more flights and destinations than any other major U.S. airport, bringing an estimated $58 billion annually in total economic benefits to the region and supporting tens of thousands of jobs statewide.

In recent years major companies including Newell Rubbermaid, First Data and NCR have relocated to Georgia thanks in part to Atlanta’s extensive international and domestic service.

This pattern of service has developed because of the number of flights that serve Hartsfield: Every arriving flight includes travelers who connect to other flights, providing support for an expansive network of nonstop destinations.

Hartsfield-Jackson achieved this position in large part because of its status as the region’s sole commercial airport. Airports in cities such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, which have much larger populations than Atlanta, are smaller and less significant because of secondary airports in close proximity. These secondary airports siphon traffic flow from hubs at the primary airports and ultimately reduce the number of flights and destinations that can be successfully operated. They also reduce airport revenues, in the form of landing fees, concession revenues and parking charges, which are needed to support expansion and development of the primary airport.

That’s why Delta has long opposed a secondary airport in Atlanta, including in Paulding County. And it is why we have publicly stated that we will work with Hartsfield-Jackson and new entrant airlines to ensure that any new entrants to the Atlanta market have access to gates and facilities at Hartsfield-Jackson.

While our position is driven primarily by the desire to protect and continue to develop the region’s economy, we also are mindful of the potential negative impact a Paulding County passenger airport could have on county taxpayers, which include nearly 800 Delta employees. The agreement, which was signed in secret and only recently made public, gives a private firm, Propeller Investments, all of the business advantages of a passenger airport, while Paulding County taxpayers are assuming all of the risks and will be responsible for the cost of development if the airport fails commercially.

The lack of transparency in the process is clearly a concern for area residents, many of whom have voiced strong opposition to the expansion in recent weeks. For example, it appears that the county attempted to find a shortcut around an environmental review of the airport expansion project by failing to inform the FAA of its plans to establish Atlanta’s secondary passenger airport in Paulding County. That’s just one of many questions that have recently been raised about the project.

I hope this clarifies Delta’s position. Please contact me if you’d like to discuss the issue further.

Sincerely, Holden Shannon Senior Vice President – Corporate Strategy & Real Estate Delta Air Lines

Related Dallas-Hiram Patch stories:

Paulding County Chamber: Myths Vs. Facts on Silver Comet Field

Commissioner: Airport Authority Pushed Changes Through Backdoor

Upset Residents Want to be Heard about Airport's Expansion Plans

County and Propeller Investments Announce Silver Comet Field


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