Peachtree Corners Life

EEB PERSPECTIVE
Excerpted from The Gwinnett Forum
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher of the Gwinnett Forum

FEB. 9, 2010 — Back about 25 years ago, there was interest in making Gwinnett’s Briscoe Field into a commercial airport. Envisioned were direct flights to cities of 500-750 miles away. Some called it wrongly a “second Atlanta airport.” However, it was envisioned as a much smaller, feeder airport into cities from Memphis to Orlando and Miami, and up the East Coast to Washington, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, etc.

Brack

Anticipated was that many northside passengers would use Briscoe Field for two reasons: eliminating the commute to Hartsfield-International, and saving time on checking in, parking, etc., and shorter ramp-waiting times before taking off.

The Gwinnett Chamber did an extensive study of the proposal. All this, by 1990, when Gwinnett had a population of 352,000, showed that such an airport could become viable. Had off-price carriers come in here then (think Southwest), it would have had a dramatic effect on air fares unto this day.

But it never happened. This died a fast death when county commissioners nixed the idea. Yet it was essentially a good proposal.

Now, with Gwinnett’s population near 800,000 people, this time the idea of developing Briscoe Field as a commercial airport comes from a private firm, Propeller Investments. They want Gwinnett to be in the running for five airports that the Federal Aviation Administration wants to privatize. This firm says it has the financial backing to make this happen.

To take place, Gwinnett commissioners need to apply for one of the five spots in this privatization program of the FAA. Such a proposal is a relatively simple application that would make Gwinnett a candidate for becoming a private airport.

Drawing of what a new airport could look like.

Two major elements would come with such a privatization. Even a small airport, with as few as three flights an hour during the day, would bring a tremendous economic impact of the county. Essentially, a significant number of jobs would become Gwinnett-based, from airline positions at the terminal, to auto rental fleet slots, to those working on the runways, and more.

Airline passengers would see immediate benefits, and flow to Gwinnett from all several counties around us to catch these direct flights. The attraction, besides saving time, would the cheaper flights that new off-price airlines could bring. There’s even a feeling that mighty Delta Air Lines would be forced to meet the competition and have originating flights here.

It’s a win-win, in our opinion. Most major cities have some type of feeder airport relieving a small portion of flights at the main airport. Not Atlanta, as the City of Atlanta and Delta in particular have opposed the plan for obvious reasons.

While the earlier proposal for a commercial airport in Lawrenceville was sound, it lacked one element: the ready capital to get it done, which would have to be raised by the local government. By privatizing, this is no longer a burden on the county, as the county would benefit from either the sale of the airport, or, if the airport was leased to the operators, the county would gain steady rental fees each year.

The people proposing the privatizing of Briscoe Field have done their homework. About every question you could have, from How to Why, is brought up on their web site. To learn more, go to http://www.whyprivatizebriscoe.com/, and see for yourself.

Relatively cheap, quick flights to distant East Coast and Midwestern cities? It could happen with quick action by the Gwinnett County Commission. The commission’s approval of such a plan could stamp their time in office with dramatically changing Gwinnett for the good for ages to come.