More than 1,600 people boarded flights at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in 2013. In 2012, that number hovered around 800.
“That’s the first increase that we’ve seen in about ten years, annually,” says Airport Manager Doug Faour. “And it’s the highest number of annual enplanements in five years.”
Silver Airways first started taking off out of Macon last April and offers daily flights to both Atlanta and Orlando. Faour says more flights and more convenience for travelers seems to be the equation to boost ticket sales.
“The more support we get from the local community, the better our opportunities are to continue the growth, to add more flights, different destinations, and those type of things,” says Faour.
That’s why he’s trying to reach out to central Georgians and turn the airport into a destination for more than transportation.
“We’ve been doing that through an upgraded website and through social media. So we plan to continue that plus other social events that we’ve hosted such as Run or Dye. Last October, we had over 4,000 people here,” says Faour.
That’s just the start of his to-do list.
“A runway extension, I would love to see that happen in the next five years, to continue to grow our commercial air service in hopes of reaching about 10,000 enplanements a year.”
Faour says if passenger numbers keep taking off, that could land more businesses in the area, and eventually increase the airport’s economic impact.
To entice more people to visit the airport, Faour says he’s offering a round-trip ticket to any of Silver Airways’ destinations. He says to enter, go to the airport’s new Facebook page and write a comment about your experience at the airport. One person will be chosen at random Friday, February 14th.
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/macon/2014/02/05/macon-airport-passengers/5245079/