Air
service in this region has been criticized for high fares, a shortage
of non-stop flights and no international flights.
Does
this sound familiar?
It
should.
Yet
the comments were made in 2000, amid plans for a regional airport to
be built in Isle of Wight County.
Then, the
state aviation director, Kenneth F. Wiegand, said: ``Are you happy
with the air transportation you have today? Are you really satisfied?
Have you thought about the future of your community?''
Wiegand
should have asked: “have you thought about the future of the
region?”
Politicians
on both sides of the water blasted the plan.
``Any
closing of the Norfolk airport would be a disaster,'' said Norfolk
Mayor Paul D. Fraim. ``Those of us watching this thing from a
distance are amazed that common sense hasn't taken root at some
point.''
Newport
News Mayor Joe S. Frank said, ``This is a real threat to the progress
of Hampton Roads. There's nothing I see that makes a compelling case
for it. The downside is really horrendous.''
The
concerns then may be the same concerns today – that the city
economies might suffer from a withdrawal of firms and thus jobs,
investment and tax dollars.
But
the two mayors overstated the obvious; by doing so, they sabotaged the
future of the region.
Their opposition was shortsighted and made shirt shrift of the region's future. By the time the airport would have opened, neither one would have been in politics or perhaps even alive.
Their opposition was shortsighted and made shirt shrift of the region's future. By the time the airport would have opened, neither one would have been in politics or perhaps even alive.
Regional
leaders have discussed the need for high-speed rail, higher-speed
rail and more frequent rail passenger service.
But
no one has talked about a regional airport.
Regional
leaders have talked about a super highway connecting Tidewater and
the Triad in North Carolina.
But
no one has mentioned the possibility of a regional airport with
non-stop flights, international flights and possibly cheaper fares.
Regional
leaders at one time talked about a professional sports team even.
But
none have raised the issue of a regional airport.
Yet
air passenger traffic keeps dropping dropping dropping. While more air carriers
merge, consolidate and shed costs.
You
can't blame former Newport News Mayor Joe Frank and Fraim for
protecting their airports.
Airports convey status and image. In Norfolk, the airport authority, whose directors are chosen by City Council, return a generous amount of cash to the city every year. Last year, it was $2.5 million.
Airports convey status and image. In Norfolk, the airport authority, whose directors are chosen by City Council, return a generous amount of cash to the city every year. Last year, it was $2.5 million.
A
sign in Norfolk International Airport says to visitors “welcome to
the Greater Norfolk Area.”
Whoever controls the airport controls
the message, the image and the status. And Mayor Paul Fraim controls
whatever happens at the airport through his proxies, the authority's
board of directors, who sit on the fringe of public transparency.
Even
the oracle at Old Dominion University, the State of the Region
Report, got into the act.
Not
surprisingly, the economists predicted doom and gloom.
“While
all residents of Hampton Roads would like to have access to more
direct flights to major U.S. and foreign cities, the economic impact
of closing down both the NNWI and NI airports would be large, perhaps
devastating, on the communities they currently serve,” the 2000
State of the Region Report said.
“For
example, it is not clear whether firms would be anxious to move to or
expand in cities such as Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach if
they were located 70 miles and more than an hour away from the
nearest significant airport.”
Why
not?
Company
executives and locals routinely travel 70-miles or more to get a direct
flight, a cheaper flight or an international flight.
Airport
officials and Authority board members are too conservative and too
risk averse.
The
most obvious, though unspoken irony, is that the word “international”
is wedged between the words “Norfolk” and “Airport.”
What's
so international about Norfolk's airport?
The word, yes. And maybe the parking fees.