News Herald Airport Grand Opening(2)

8/7/2019 News Herald Airport Grand Opening(2)

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WHATS INSIDE: Grand Opening Celebrations

Air Carriers Are Ready To Land

Airport Facts by the Numbers

Memorable Photos

First Look at the All Green Designs

May 18, 2010 An Advertising Supplement to The News Herald


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Page |The News Herald| Tuesday, May 18, 010


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Tuesday, May 18, 010 |The News Herald| Page

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From an idea grewan international airport

The idea for a new airport began growing

when efforts to extend the runway of theold Panama City-Bay County InternationalAirport bogged down over environmentalconcerns.

Conversations between officials with TheSt. Joe Co. and former Airport Authoritychairman Don Crisp led to a group char-rette in October 1998, during which about40 people bounced ideas around about im-proving air service.

Among that group were two representa-tives from Southwest Airlines.

Jerry Ray, former St. Joe senior vicepresident for external affairs, said he hadknown Southwest officials for some time,knew that they were the right airline for thearea, but also knew they couldnt operate outof the old airport with its shorter runway.

The new Northwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport, with a 10,000-foot run-way, has grown near West Bay.

A multi-faceted deal between Southwest,St. Joe, tourism development councils inBay and Walton counties, officials with thenew airport and resort owners along the

Panhandle have brought the nations largestdomestic carrier to the area.

In the big picture, St. Joe gets the lionsshare of the credit, said Marty McDaniel,former chairman of the Bay County TouristDevelopment Council. They have takena monumental risk, but its a risk that wethink will be rewarded.

A ln ancOfficials have praised the set of agree-

ments and relationships reached betweenvarious organizations that brought South-west to Northwest Florida.

The team is huge, Ray said. Its takenan entire region. We are all on the cuttingedge.

Ray, involved in businesses surroundingairlines for 30 years, knew the transforma-tive power of bringing a new airline andthe right airline into a community. He hadseen it before in the late 1970s during an eraof airline deregulation.

I know how a community can be

transformed by airlines, Ray said. Andwe are now in the second phase of thattransformation.

Bob Montgomery, Southwests vice presi-dent of properties, says he was not at the 1998charrette but aware of the meeting. He saidSouthwest, as a normal course of business,engages in extensive discussions with a com-munity before jumping into a market.

He described it as a long dance.

Current Airport Authority Chairman JoeTannehill said critics of the new airport hadgotten it wrong when they joked that air-port boosters hoped to build it and they willcome, referring to attracting a new low-costcarrier.

It was more like, Build it and then worklike hell, he said.

The sole reason for the new airport hadbeen to improve air service and lower faresto Northwest Florida, and strategy sessionswere conducted for years, Tannehill said.

Bay County represented a unique situa-tion because Southwest would open opera-tions at a new airport for the first time, onethat did not already have a matrix of estab-lished routes to core cities, Montgomerysaid.

In addition, the airport was billing itself asenvironmentally friendly.

The risks were greater, and Southwestneeded a corporate partner such as St. Joe,the regions largest landowner, whose inter-

ests coincided with the airlines. New marketsneeded to be opened, new routes establishedand the story of Northwest Florida needed tobe told to the rest of the country.

This is something new for us, Montgom-ery said, describing the interrelated agree-ments that were painstakingly hammeredtogether from conversations and meetingsover a number of years.

SEE idEa | 5

News Head Fie Phts

Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill,left, holds aloft a model of a SouthwestAirlines jet given by Southwests directorof marketing, Dana Williams, right, duringSouthwests announcement they wouldoperate from the new Northwest FloridaBeaches International Airport.


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ideAf Pge 4The deal would never have come

together without the work of the Air-port Authority to oversee the timelyconstruction of the airport with al-most no debt, Montgomery said.

Tannehill praised past Airport

Authority chairmen such as Crispand state Rep. Jimmy Patronis forhaving a vision that culminated inSouthwests decision.

It was really the gleam in hiseye that first got the idea going,Tannehill said of Crisp. The effortsto construct the new airport in-volved negotiations with not onlySt. Joe and state and local leadersbut also environmental groups.

We could not have done it with-out St. Joe, Crisp said of the com-pany that donated about 4,000 acresfor the new airport, as well as envi-ronmental set-asides, as part of astate-sanctioned 74,000-acre WestBay Sector Plan for managed devel-opment surrounding West Bay.

The decision by Southwestshows that this was the real thing,Crisp said of building the new air-port. Southwest puts us on themap, puts us in the market.

The current set of agreements

with Southwest will become a modelfor the rest of the country, Ray said.

The first meeting with South-west was in late 1998, so it is a well-grounded relationship, Ray said.This package of interrelated agree-

ments with the Northwest Floridateam will be a model for airline newservice starts nationwide.

Lfn vlMcDaniel said he attended strat-

egy sessions for a year during whichthe various parties talked aboutbringing Southwest to the table.

The discussions were held veryclose to the chest. Like Ray, hecalled the set of agreements un-precedented and a model for therest of the country.

This is very innovative,McDaniel said. This is a veryunique way to get a low-cost carrier,which is a game-changer.

The agreements come with bothrisks and rewards.

Montgomery said St. Joe steppedup to share the risk, and the TDCsof Bay and Walton counties agreedto pass additional bed taxes and

cooperate in marketing efforts. Inaddition, Coastal Vision 3000 wasborn to rebrand the region beyond

individual cities.Yall are really taking steps to

be viewed as a region, Montgom-ery said of the linked efforts.

St. Joe has agreed to make quar-terly payments to Southwest for itsfirst three years of service in theevent Southwest operates at a loss,up to $14 million the first year and$12 million the second year.

The TDC earlier this year ap-proved an extra penny in bed taxes

on short-term rentals to aid in mar-keting the area for a low-cost car-rier. The approximately $2.2 million

per year from that tax, as well asa half-cent increase in the bed taxin Walton County, proved to be ashot of adrenaline in efforts to lureSouthwest, McDaniel said.

That got St. Joe to really hit thethrottle, he said. They realizedthen that the tourism communitywas serious.

Papers filed by St. Joe with theSecurities and Exchange Commis-sion noted Southwests obligation

to provide air service to the newairport was conditioned, in part, bythe TDCs of Bay and Walton coun-ties coordinating their marketingresources.

Those negotiations began in the

hours after Southwests announce-ment, and a deal was structured ac-cording to the ordinances approvedon the bed taxes. This is a winnerfor everybody, McDaniel said.

A substantial marketing pushwas needed, he said. Somethingmore than we could do ourselves.

Once a person finally experi-ences the reality of what the areaoffers, your jaw drops and you startdrooling, Montgomery said.

McDaniel said Southwest hasa business model that is differentthan other airlines and tailor-madefor the Panhandle. Each node inthe Southwest network is meantto fit well with other connections,he said.

Northwest Florida will now havethe opportunity to build beneficialco-op networks and sister-city rela-tionships with other destinations.

We have hit a huge home runfor the region, McDaniel said.

A countdown clock inside a construction trailer at the NorthwestFlorida Beaches International Airport constantly illuminated the timeleft before the airports May 23 opening.


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Millions of dollars are be-ing spent nationally to pro-

mote the area and the newNorthwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport, notonly to short-term tour-ists but long-term businessinterests.

Southwest Airlines hascommitted to eight non-stop flights a day from fourcities, totaling about 2,000passengers per day. DeltaAir Lines, currently operat-ing from the old airport, has

announced it will add twoflights per day with largerMcDonnell Douglas MD-88aircraft, which have a seat-ing capacity of 142.

Airport officials say theSouthwest effect will drawnew business and industryto the area.

Panama City attorneyWilliam Harrison says thenew airport will affect the

region in both large andsmall ways, from the growth

of small businesses to largeindustries.All of a sudden we have

hundreds of thousands ofpeople looking for some-thing to do, in volumes thatwe have never seen before,said Harrison, who is head-ing up the fundraising effortfor the three-day celebrationsurrounding the airportsMay 23 opening.

What will these people

do? he said, mentioningamusements, restaurants,biking, boating and canoe-ing. What happens with thenumber of people who willbe relocating here?

TDC Executive DirectorDan Rowe said he thinks thecommunity will be ready.Like an old-style countrypreacher, he has been trav-eling the nation in recent

months, pitching his tentin various media marketsto preach the gospel ofPanama City Beach.

We are ready for them,

but we have to make surewe take advantage of theopportunity, Rowe said.We have to let them knowthat we are excited about

them being here.The area has some of

the most beautiful beachesin the world and an infra-structure in place to wel-come new visitors, Rowesaid, including miles ofhotels and condos. Thearea already handles alarge influx of touristsevery year during thesummer tourism season.

He called it our oppor-tunity to be in the sun.

The Suthwest eetHarrison said the low

fares of Southwest, thenations largest domesticcarrier, will have a rippleeffect throughout the region.The lower rates will make iteasier for businesses to op-erate and help industry ex-pand into the area. Knownas the Southwest effect,the phenomenon has been

seen in other communi-ties when Southwest opensoperations.

Harrison said he knowsof local business people whosay they will double theirvolume with the opening ofthe airport and the low faresof Southwest.

It changes the men-tality of people who maywant to come into our mar-ket, he said. There is atrickle-down effect. It makesit more efficient for people

to do business.With the opening of a

new international airportand its longer 10,000-footrunway along with PortPanama City and nearbyrail and highway lines thepieces of a modern indus-trial transportation systemare in place.

Ap pmss ppun f nal

PLEaSE SEE Growth | 7

News Head ie pht

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., during last years NorthwestFlorida Aerospace Corridor Tour, said the new airportwill become both a magnet for tourism traffic from othernations and a magnet for the aerospace and the defenseindustry in Northwest Florida.


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As the mentality develops thatPanama City Beach is no longeronly a drive market, the economyincreases overall, not just in tour-

ism but other businesses as well.You have a lot more opportuni-ty to do business, Harrison said.

Current businesses will growand new industry will relocateinto the area as communities ex-pand their roads, utility systems,signs, police and fire protection,he said, preparing for a future withthousands of more people livingand working in Bay County andthroughout Northwest Florida.

Just taking The work to bring high-wage

jobs to Northwest Florida is justtaking off. The airports economicimpact is still years away but thework to bring high-wage jobs toNorthwest Florida is just takingoff, officials say.

Transportation, like this air-port, does not create economicdevelopment; it creates the oppor-tunity for economic growth, said

Ed Nelson, Gulf Countys Econom-ic Development Alliance executivedirector. Its not automatic; wehave to come together as a com-

munity to get things done.In the next 20 years, NorthwestFlorida could see phenomenalgrowth in areas such as high-techindustry, commercial and residen-tial mixed-use development, tradeand tourism, officials said.

Tourism will feel an immediateimpact as the Southwest Effecttakes off, officials said. An adver-tising campaign is already in fullswing to markets such as Orlando,Nashville and Dallas, Southwest

Airlines marketing and commu-nications director Dana Williamssaid.

Southwest Airlines serving anarea such as Panama City meanscheaper airfares and usually about60 percent more travelers. Thosetravelers mean tourism dollarslocally.

Recent Southwest ads show aSouthwest baggage handler hand-ing out golf clubs at a local golf

resort. Other shows an air trafficcontroller standing on the sugar-sand beach, directing jumpingdolphins. Both ads end with Grab

your beach bag. Its on.Southwest also is planningimpromptu beach parties wherebusinessmen strip to swimsuits inthe downtown area of cities suchas Chicago and Nashville. And theadvertising is getting a good re-sponse, even from unanticipatedareas such as Midwestern resi-dents, Williams said.

Southwest is great, but its notenough, experts said.

Southwest is important, but

its more important what we dofrom a community perspective,said Kevin Johnson, St. Joe Co.svice president of marketing for theWest Bay sector. Without politi-cal will and investment in people,investment in infrastructure andinvestment in education, we willnot fully realize this opportunity.

Destinatins

Airports spawn businesses, but

leaders must plan, create a recog-nizable name, or brand and active-ly recruit wanted industries, saidDr. John Kasarda, a renowned

expert on economic developmentsurrounding airports. Airportsare what highways and railroadswere in the last century, he said.Todays airports are destinationsto themselves, attracting restau-rants, hotels, museums, retailbusiness and industry.

Efforts to recruit businessesalready are under way, but con-struction preparation usuallytakes more than a year. Planningand locating a company in thenew industrial space adjacent tothe airport will take about fouryears, Bay County EconomicDevelopment Alliance executivedirector Janet Watermeier said.

St. Joes decision to relocateits headquarters from Jack-sonville to its property at thenew airport is meant, in part, toconvince other companies theproject is viable. It also meansinfrastructure will be in place for

other sites, Watermeier said.The move is significant. St.

Joes West Bay sector presidentRod Wilson said the companys

move sends a message that St.Joe is confident in the airportspotential.

I think this is going to helpchange the perception of North-west Florida, and were glad tobe a part of that, Wilson said.

The move also made sensebecause St. Joe is the largestprivate property owner in North-west Florida.

St. Joe is banking on a net-work of connections to target in-

dustries, but residents shouldntexpect an instant transforma-tion, Wilson said. The clock forattracting business wont startuntil the day after the airportopens, Floridas Great North-west President Al Wenstrandsaid.

Even then, success is notguaranteed. The communitymust treat the airport as anasset, leaders said.

growthf pge 6


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Page 8 |The News Herald| Tuesday, May 18, 010

WEST BAY Free tickets are available for the Satur-day, May 22, community grand opening celebration of thenew Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

The celebration will include food and drink vendorsand tours of the new airport terminal building. A freeparking pass can be downloaded from the Web site www.northwestfloridabeaches.com. Times and activities maychange due to weather and/or conditions.

Scul f vns f Saua: 9 a.m. Gates open

9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Merritt Brown Middle Band

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Flipside, fun for children

9:45 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. LoCash Cowboys

10:55 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Arnold High Jazz Band 11:30 a.m. Grand opening. Local, regional, state and

federal dignitaries mark the occasion, including Sen. Bill Nelson

and Gov. Charlie Crist

11:45 a.m. Tyndall Flyover

12:20 p.m. Ribbon-cutting

12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Eric Heatherly

1:55 p.m. First Southwest Airlines flight ETA

1:55 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Bay High Band

2:15 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. Stainless Steel

2:30 p.m. Second Southwest Airlines flight ETA

2:30 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. Bay High Band

3 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. Eric Heatherly

4 p.m. Gates close within the hour

I yu gFree tickets for the Saturday, May 22, event can be picked up

at the following locations:

Bay County Chamber of Commerce, 235 W. Fifth St., down-

town Panama City

Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, 17001

Back Beach Road (U.S. 98), Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, 309 Richard

Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach Mexico Beach CDC, 102 Canal Parkway, Mexico Beach

Walton County Chamber of Commerce, 63 S. Centre Trail,

Santa Rosa Beach

Beaches of South Walton, 25777 U.S. 331 S.

Panama City-Bay County International Airport (current

airport), 3173 Airport Road, Panama City.

Grand

openingcelebration


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News Head fe phts

From small meetings, the idea fora major airport began to emergein 1998. In the intervening years,the new Northwest FloridaBeaches International Airportwith its 10,000-foot runwayhas grown near West Bay anda myriad of governmental andeconomic groups have touted its

future economic benefits. Afterits May 23 opening, the airportalso has long-range plans to growwith the region for the next 50to 100 years, including the abil-ity to expand to parallel runwaysof 12,000 and 8,400 feet, with1,400 acres available for inside-the-fence commercial and indus-trial development.


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Speia t The News Head

The West Bay SectorPlan is an ambitious land-planning scheme, the cen-terpiece of which is theNorthwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport. Flor-ida allows only five sectorplans statewide.

That plan seeks themanaged growth of about78,000 acres of St. Joe Co.land around West Bay, in-

cluding portions set aside forindustrial and residential de-velopment, the airport andenvironmental set-asides.

Officials have touted theplan as a tool for broad-brush planning. It al-lows governments, privatecitizens and agencies con-cerned with transportation,forestry and the environ-ment to have input into pro-posed development.

Officials know that anyplanned residential devel-opments must have theproper infrastructure. En-vironmental groups alsohave an opportunity to voicetheir opinions on wetlandsprotection.

County officials havesaid the West Bay SectorPlan gives the region anunmatched opportunity for

balanced growth, more eco-nomic development and en-vironmental protection.

Officials say the new air-port offers the biggest andbest hope to meet the needfor improved air service toNorthwest Florida. That po-tential is why nearly everygovernmental body, cham-

ber of commerce, economicdevelopment council, tour-ism development counciland other job-developmententities in the region supportit so vigorously. And that iswhy after years of studythe Florida Department ofTransportation and the Fed-eral Aviation Administra-tion support the airport andhave backed it with almost$150 million.

The roughly 75,000-acreplan is meant to provide abalance of improved air ser-vice, stronger economic de-

velopment and permanentprotection for nearly 40,000acres of wetlands and water-shed along West Bay.

Officials have called itthe largest, most compre-hensive and conservation-minded land use plan inFloridas history.

Every aspect of the plan

is important and connect-ed. The new airport will bethe gateway for business,commercial and residentialdevelopment for the entireregion. There is ample roomto locate businesses on theairport property or on adja-cent land.

Officials say the bigidea within a big idea isthe 40,000-acre conserva-tion area. In 2001, when theWest Bay Sector Plan wasbeing discussed at dozensof public workshops, a con-stant theme was the need

to protect the bay. Localenvironmentalists and en-vironmental groups saw thepotential, participated in theplanning and have lent theirsupport to the plan.

An area roughly the sizeof all the cities in Bay Countycombined is permanentlyprotected.

DIrEcTIoNS To NorTHWEST FlorIDA BEAcHES INTErNATIoNAl AIrPorT

The new Northwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport is on State 388, betweenState 79 to the west and State 77 to the east.

From Panama City, take State 77 norththrough Lynn Haven and Southport. Turn left ontoState 388. Proceed about eight miles. Airportentrance is on the right.

From Panama City Beach, take State 79 northtoward West Bay. Turn right onto State 388.

Proceed for about four miles. Airport entrance ison the left.

Driving west on I-10 from Tallahassee, takeState 77 south to State 388. Turn right andproceed about eight miles. Airport entrance is onthe right.

Driving east on I-10 from Pensacola, take State79 south to State 388. Turn left and proceedabout four miles. Airport entrance is on the left.

The West Bay

Sector Plan isan ambitiousland-planningscheme, thecenterpieceof which is theNorthwestFlorida BeachesInternationalAirport. The planseeks to both

manage growthand protectsome of the mostbeautiful andremote areasalong West Bay.

News Head ie pht

Set pan mixesdevepment, nsevatin


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Tuesday, May 18, 010 |The News Herald| Page 11

S szThe new airport has been built on about

1,300 acres of a 4,000-acre site.The site has ample room for expansion. It

is the first commercial-service internationalairport built in the U.S. in the past 15 years.

Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines

will offer daily nonstop service to Atlanta,Memphis, Orlando, Cincinnati, Houston,Baltimore and Nashville.

Ap mnsnsThe airport has been designed to grow

with the region for the next 50 to 100 years.Basic airport specifications include:

Primary runway: 10,000 feet x 150 feetCrosswind runway: 5,000 feet x 100 feet

(not yet constructed)Terminal: 125,000 square feetGates: 7Restaurants: 2Retail shops: 2Car rental ticketing counters: 5

Pjc csAbout $330 million with funds com-

ing in equal one-third shares from the

federal and state governments and AirportAuthority revenues. No local taxes havebeen used.

This cost included work, such as feasibil-ity and site selection studies, environmentalimpact statement and mitigation plans andpermitting, plus work for design, financingand construction.

t ws Ba Sc PlanThe airport is the anchor to the West

Bay Area Sector Plan, an overarchingland-use plan for the development andconservation of about 75,000 acres innorthwestern Bay County. It is among thelargest mixed-use planned communities inthe United States.

gn mnalThe Airport Authority has committed

that the new airport terminal will be certi-fied green under the Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design (LEED) pro-gram of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The LEED program is a voluntarycertification program that defines high-performance buildings, which are moreenvironmentally responsible.

The new airport: By thE numBErS

The new Northwest Flor-

ida Beaches InternationalAirport will be the only air-port in the Florida Panhan-dle that:l Is an international

airport;l Has customs and im-

migration on call 24/7;l Is Free-Trade Zone

ready;l Is able to operate

without restriction 24/7/365;

lHas no noise or incom-patible land use issues;l Has the ability to ex-

pand to parallel runways of12,000 feet and 8,400 feet;l Has 1,400 acres avail-

able for inside-the-fencecommercial/industrialdevelopment;lHas pad sites with run-

way access available;

l Has a master-planned

sector outside the fence, in-cluding a regional employ-ment center permitted formillions of square feet;l Is designed to be

the nations first greenairport and is building aLEED-certified terminalbuilding;l Has a plan to operate

carbon neutral.

opportunities

The new NorthwestFlorida BeachesInternational Airportwill be the only airport

in the Florida Panhandleplanned with the reachand infrastructure tohelp businesses expandthroughout the region.

News Head ie pht


12/16


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The construction of NorthwestFlorida Beaches International Air-port, the first commercial-serviceinternational airport built in theU.S. in the past 15 years, has notcome without challenges.

Despite the challenges, theAirport Authority Board has man-aged to bring the airport in ontime, and on budget, and with theaddition to the area of Southwest

Airlines, the nations largest do-mestic carrier.

Consider:

A lawsuit that sought to reversea permit issued by the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers for construc-tion of the new airport was dis-missed in late 2008. The lawsuit,filed by several environmentalgroups, claimed the constructionof the new $318 million airportwould destroy valuable wetlands

and the corps abused its discre-tion in issuing the permit.

The lawsuit was brought byFlorida Clean Water Network Inc.,Natural Resources Defense Coun-cil, Citizens for the Bay Inc. andDefenders of Wildlife.

Work on the airport continuedas the lawsuit moved through thecourts, with most of the site prepa-ration on the 4,000-acre site north

of County 388 completed by thetime of the dismissal.

The airport also ran into prob-lems with the state Department ofEnvironmental Protection (DEP)regarding site stabilization andcontrol of erosion, the lack ofwhich led to hundreds of thou-sands of dollars in fines by theDEP. The question of who wasresponsible clouded several Air-port Authority Board meetings.

The DEP continues to monitor thesituation.

Questions also arose duringconstruction of when to build a5,000-foot crosswind runway thatcould cost about $18 million. Al-though Airport Authority BoardChairman Joe Tannehill has saidhe is committed to the project, theadded runway was put on hold un-til after the May 23 opening.

Most recently, questions aroseregarding proper construction of astate-of-the-art drainage filtrationsystem that will solve the problemof treating stormwater before itleaves the airport grounds and en-ters the West Bay watershed. Thecompleted system has six miles ofunder-drains and a large filteringpond. Construction officials wereworking to solve the problem asthe grand opening date neared.

ap a clee les

ke p el

JoanneEdmondsfishing boatis parkedacrossBurnt MillCreek

from thesite ofthe newNorthwestFloridaBeaches In-ternationalAirport.One of theairportschallenges

during con-structionhas beento controlstormwaterrunoff intosurround-ing creeks.

News Head

ie pht


13/16


The Northwest FloridaBeaches International Airport

will feature a 2,000-square-footmilitary welcome center.

The new center will have areceptionist with a waiting ar-ea that features large-screenTVs and computer terminalsfor military visitors who needInternet access. There also willbe a childrens area and a smallkitchen.

The center will be on theairport terminals second floor,above the baggage claim area.The Airport Authority donatedthe space, with the furnitureand accessories for the wel-come center anticipated to costabout $60,000.

After initial contributionsfrom AT&T and Vision Bank,OFS Furniture, the manufac-turer of the furnishings, agreedto donate all of the remainingitems needed for the center.

The Bay County Veterans

Council will manage the wel-come center on a long-termbasis, and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be heldafter the airport opens.

With the opening of the newNorthwest Florida Beaches Inter-national Airport, Bay County will

immediately have three air carriersready to ferry passengers: South-west Airlines, Delta Air Lines andDelta Connection.

Suthwest Aiines is a low-costairline. Southwest is the largestairline in the world by number ofpassengers carried per year (as of2009). Southwest Airlines has car-ried more customers than any otherU.S. airline since August 2006 forcombined domestic and interna-tional passengers, according to theU.S. Department of TransportationsBureau of Transportation Statistics.Southwest maintains the third-largest passenger fleet of aircraftamong all of the worlds commercialairlines.

As of May 3, 2009, Southwestoperated about 3,510 flights daily.Southwest has its headquarterson the grounds of Love Field inDallas, Texas. From NorthwestFlorida Beaches International Air-

port, Southwest will operate nonstopflights to Nashville, Tenn.; Orlando;Baltimore/Washington D.C.; andHouston.

Deta Ai lines is based and head-quartered in Atlanta. It is the worldslargest airline. Delta operates an ex-tensive domestic and internationalnetwork, spanning North Ameri-ca, South America, Europe, Asia,Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbe-an and Australia. Delta operates itslargest hubs at Hartsfield-JacksonAtlanta International Airport and

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne CountyAirport.

On Oct. 29, 2008, Delta completedits merger with Northwest Airlinesto form the worlds largest commer-cial carrier. In February 2009, the air-line began consolidating gates andticket counters at airports whereboth Delta and Northwest operate.Delta, through its Delta Connectioncarriers, will operate flights to andfrom Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn.,from Northwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport.

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News Head ie pht

Interior designer Lori Bates,rights, talks with Jay Lacey,secretary of the Bay CountyVeterans Council, at theconstruction site of the newairport.

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1Airport Authority com-

pletes Airport Master PlanUpdate. The plan identifiesextending both the runwaylength and runway safetyareas among future needs.

A i r p o r t A u t h o r i t y initiates an EnvironmentalAssessment (EA) to consid-er alternatives for a runwayextension at the existingairport.

The EA recommends the

extension of Runway 14-32to the northwest into GooseBayou, which are Class IISurface Waters protectedunder state law.

Based on the analysesconducted, the proposedproject would have resultedin significant adverse effectto Goose Bayou.

18The Airport Authority ter-

minates the EA process and

the proposed project due tothe magnitude of the effectsand concerns expressed byagencies and local environ-mentalists over whether theeffects could be mitigated.

The Airport Authoritybegins to consider thepossibility of relocating theairport to a new site and be-gins an effort to build commu-nity support for relocation.

The Airport Authority

works with the St. Joe Com-pany to investigate the feasi-bility of relocating the airport.The St. Joe Company, BayCountys largest private land-owner, agrees to consider thepossibility of donating landfor a relocated airport.

1With support from the

Federal Aviation Administra-tion (FAA) and the FloridaDepartment of Transporta-tion (FDOT), the Airport Au-thority initiates a feasibilitystudy examining the poten-tial of expanding or relocat-ing the airport facilities.

000The Airport Authority

submits the Airport Feasi-bility Study to the FAA andFDOT in July 2000.

On Aug, 18, 2000, the FAAnotified the Airport Author-

ity that it concurred withthe recommendation of thestudy to proceed with a siteselection study to determinealternative locations forrelocation of the airport.

The Airport Site Selec-tion Study was completed inDecember 2000 and identi-fied potential locations forthe relocated airport, with arecommended optimal site.

001

In April, the FAA pro-vides tentative site ap-proval for a site in westernBay County, based on theAirport Site Selection Studysrecommendation.

The Airport Authority, theBay County Commission andthe St. Joe Company makeuse of Floridas new, innova-tive sector planning processto develop a large-scale long-term land use plan for 75,000

acres in northwestern BayCounty, with the new airportsite as the plans centerpiece.The plan also includes morethan 41,000 acres identifiedas conservation land.

00In December, the

Bay County Commissionapproves the land use chang-es in the West Bay SectorPlan, including the proposedsite for the new airport.

00The FAA begins prepar-

ing a Draft EnvironmentalImpact Statement (DEIS)for the airport relocationproject.

In November, the FAAdelivers its DEIS.

00In January, the FAA holds

a public hearing and com-ment period on the DEIS.

In March 2005, the AirportAuthority votes to relocatePFN, contingent on a rec-ommendation by the FAA torelocate in its Final EIS andRecord of Decision. Othercontingencies include theability to secure all necessarystate and federal permits andadequate funding.

The FAA begins prepar-ing the Final EnvironmentalImpact Statement (FEIS) on

the proposed project.00The FAA issues its FEIS

in May, identifying relocationto the proposed West Bay siteas its Preferred Alternative.

In September, the FAAissues Record of Decision,issued in September 2006,recommended and approvedrelocation to West Bay.

Florida issues final statepermits necessary for airport

construction at new site.00Airport Authority finalizes

design/construction team fornew airport.

U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers issues Section 404permit, the final permit

necessary for constructionto begin.

FAA provides a $26 mil-lion grant for the first phaseof airport construction. TheFAA has pledged at least $72 million, plus another $7million available to theAirport Authority through itsentitlement grants program.

A i r p o r t A u t h o r i t y approves the sale of the ex-isting airport to a subsidiaryof Leucadia National Cor-poration (NYSE: LUK) for$56.5 million in cash and anestimated $38 million from

transfer fees from the sale offuture properties developedon the site.

The TransportationSafety Administration andthe U.S. Navy announcedthat the new airport wouldserve as a test site for se-curity innovations made bythe Naval Surface WarfareCenter and implemented bythe Transportation SafetyAdministration (TSA).

The U.S. Department ofTransportation awarded a$575,000 grant to the airportto help attract a low-costcarrier to the region and tohelp current airlines expandtheir service. The federaldollars will be matched by$529,500 in cash and in-kindcontributions from the localbusiness community.

Airport Authority holdsgroundbreaking ceremony;

projects construction phaseofficially begins.008

U.S. Federal and DistrictCourts clear the way forsite preparation to proceed

Ahistory

PLEaSE SEE hiStory | 15


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Paking ates at EcPParking rates for the public short-term and long-

term parking lots at the new Northwest FloridaBeaches International Airport are as follows:

If you are parking in the short-term lot, the first10 minutes are free. From 11 minutes to 20 minutes

the rate is $1. After 20 minutes, the cost is $1 for eachadditional 20 minutes, with a daily maximum of $11.For those parking in the long-term lot, the cost struc-

ture is the same as the short-term lot, but the maximumdaily rate drops to $9. Cash and all major credit cardsare accepted.

The secure parking lots, which will be managed byRepublic Parking, are in front of the passenger terminalbuilding and within easy walking distance to the ticket-ing counters.

hiStoryf pge 14without restriction, in accor-dance with all permits.

All clearing was complet-ed on the 1,330 acres withinPhase I including all impacted

wetlands authorized by fed-eral and state permits.

More than 1.8 million cubicyards of material are exca-vated and redistributed overthe site.

Florida Legislatureawards the Panama City-BayCounty International Airportan additional $4.5 million in

funding for the purpose ofoperational enhancements.These funds are available toextend the primary runwayfrom 8,400 feet to 10,000 feet

when necessary permits areobtained.

The Airport Authority setsa target opening date for May2010.

00The Airport Authority

comes under scrutiny by theDEP for erosion control prob-lems under heavy rain events.

Airport officials sign a consentorder with DEP to solve theproblems and meet DEP per-mit requirements, and delaya decision to build a 5,000-foot

asphalt crosswind runway.Southwest Airlines CEO

Gary Kelly announces thatthe nations largest domesticcarrier will operate eight non-stop flights a day from the newairport. Delta Air Lines andDelta Connections also willoperate from the new airport.

The Airport Authority votes

to rename the new airportNorthwest Florida BeachesInternational Airport. Its callletters are ECP.

010

The Airport Authorityworks to resolve problemswith its state-of-the-artstormwater drainage filtra-tion system to meet DEPrequirements and open onMay 23.

Airport to hold its grandopening May 23 and firstflights will begin.


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Documents

News Herald Airport Grand Opening(2)