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EDITORIAL: Best Course May Be to Keep Airport Management Private

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Apr. 3--Macon and its airport have dodged one bullet -- but there are several more rounds waiting in the chamber. The Transportation Security Administration said the airport passed muster after several violations were discovered late last year. These are violations at an airport that has been the recipient of millions of federal dollars. Back in December the city's aviation director, George Brown, was fired, presumably over the violations found by FAA and TSA inspectors. Rex Elder, the former aviation director, was brought in for an interim period and Mike Anthony, the city's parks and recreation director, was mentioned as a possible replacement. However, the city's two airports need a full-time hand.

Finally, just before the Middle Georgia Regional Airport's certification was to be pulled, the mayor brought in TBI Airport Management to fix the problems. The company has succeeded and has offered to continue managing the airports for a $180,000 a year management fee. The city would still be responsible for the airports' expenses.

City Council, knowing the city's finances are in a hole, is reluctant to dig yet a deeper one. By the time TBI's short-term contract expires next week, the city will have paid as much as $94,000 -money it really doesn't have. Appropriations Committee Chairman Henry Ficklin, when given a cash flow report in early March, said, "If something is not done soon, we may have some services that we cannot deliver." The report projected that the city would be in the red by August. With the airport expenses, that date may have moved forward.

So what's the city to do? It hasn't decided to advertise for a new aviation director. In fact, there may be some reluctance to post the position. Council has pushed back the date to hear George Brown's appeal to late April. While it's doubtful Brown will get his job back, the city may face legal ramifications that might further drain its bank account.

The city should accept the fact that regulators will be keeping a close watch to make sure the airports stay in compliance. Knowing the city's financial plight, it could be difficult to attract someone with the depth of experience necessary for the job -- and any applicant would have to look at the precarious political situation between mayor and council.

Understanding this, the best course of action may be to allow TBI to run the airports. Obviously, if the mayor had not brought in experienced management with a long-standing relationship with regulators, the commercial flights at the regional airport would have already ended. TBI may also make it easier to attract a second airline.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

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