N.O. Commuter Link Sought

By Karen Nelson, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Jun. 3–PASCAGOULA — The Jackson County Airport Authority, made up of elected and business leaders, is applying for a grant to help secure a commuter flight from Trent Lott International Airport to New Orleans.

It’s part of a larger plan to boost federal funding for the airport.

"The Airport Authority is proposing to initiate service to New Orleans… upon which the general public may purchase tickets," it said in a letter presented to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors for support Monday. The authority has completed an air service study that shows "excellent potential for the service."

Airport Director Carol Snapp said there are 230,000 air passengers in the county and of those, 42 percent fly out of Gulfport, 39 percent out of Mobile and 19 percent out of New Orleans.

What they’re working toward is securing a small commuter flight to New Orleans so that businessmen and other passengers can make connections to other cities.

The grant that might make this possible is for $500,000 through the Department of Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development Program.

Once a scheduled commercial flight is secured, if the airport gets its passenger numbers up to 10,000, the airport could be eligible for $1 million in annual federal funding for airport improvements rather than the $150,000 it receives now, Snapp said.

She said the airport already supports 5,000 passengers a year flying out of Trent Lott to the offshore oil rigs and platforms.

But the airport also needs community commitment from businesses, hotels and the cab service in the county to support the commuter flight, along with some local funding.

"There’s a market here for a commuter flight," Snapp said. She talked about how convenient it would be for businessmen in east Jackson County to drive the short distance to Trent Lott and leave their car there, as opposed to the long drive to New Orleans.

The broader view is an increase in funding for airport improvements, she said, so that Trent Lott can grow.

Some of the federal funding does go to the airline or air service as a subsidy for having the flight out of a small, rural airport.

County supervisors agreed to a letter of support. The grant deadline is early June, and Snapp said she believes they have "a shot at getting it."

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