![David Austin, Paulding’s commission chairman, sent a letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson (above left) complaining about the carrier’s stance in opposition to the proposed Paulding regional airport. In it, he said Anderson’s comments and actions “are in direct opposition to your role as the [Metro Atlanta Chamber] 2014 chair-elect" and said “if you feel it is important to block the development of Silver Comet Field, an important project for the future of Paulding County, then you should consider resigning your position with the MAC."](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/EX4WRLH766E7NHMH7DG5YUIFNU.jpg?auth=a2a67e54cce9d4c9255a1f376b78289d8172ba6c83a9ccf563f3e8052a16c7b6&width=1600&height=900&smart=true)
Paulding County’s top elected official is accusing Delta Air Lines of orchestrating the opposition to airline service at the county’s small airport, and he says Delta’s CEO should give up a key civic post because he has a conflict of interest.
David Austin, Paulding’s commission chairman, sent a letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson complaining about the carrier’s stance. In it, he said Anderson’s comments and actions “are in direct opposition to your role as the [Metro Atlanta Chamber] 2014 chair-elect.”
“Thus, if you feel it is important to block the development of Silver Comet Field, an important project for the future of Paulding County, then you should consider resigning your position with the MAC,” Austin wrote.
“Having a MAC chairman who some could label anti-economic development and/or anti-competition would not be in the best interest for those in the metro Atlanta chamber of commerce industry.”
He also suggested Delta hired lawyers to help gin up opposition to the development plan, though his letter did not cite any evidence.
Delta, in a response, did not directly address the call for Anderson to give up the Chamber post or Austin’s allegations about pulling the strings of opposition. The airline said it “has long been opposed to the development of a second commercial airport that could weaken Hartsfield and damage the regional economy.”
Hartsfield-Jackson International is home to Delta’s largest hub, and Delta’s dominating presence in Atlanta plays a crucial strategic role in its worldwide route network and its standing in the local community.
Paulding airport officials last month went public with a plan to attract limited airline service, reviving the longstanding issue of whether the metro region should have a second airline airport.
A day after their announcement, Anderson told a reporter: “With the city of Atlanta and Mayor (Kasim) Reed, we will work together to oppose any investment in that facility.”
Austin wrote that since then, “it appears that Delta has orchestrated a campaign utilizing expensive attorneys to find environmental or procedural reasons to delay or stop this important project. This campaign is costing Paulding County money and time.”
He argued that “a couple of flights a week” does not make it Atlanta’s “second airport.”
Last month, law firm Troutman Sanders lodged an open records request for public records about the deal between Paulding and a company that would operate the airport, as well as environmental studies and financing records. Troutman Sanders would not identify its client but it has represented Delta and lobbies for the airline at the state Capitol.
Austin himself has been under fire from some Paulding residents who oppose commercialization of the airport and accuse the commission chairman of keeping the public in the dark as plans developed.
Three weeks ago, Paulding County residents Susan Wilkins and Anthony Avery filed a motion to intervene in a court approval of Paulding airport authority bonds issued to facilitate airline service. Their attorney Charles McKnight is a veteran business lawyer at Nations Toman & McKnight of Atlanta.
“I suspect that Delta is supplying the cadre of attorneys to find possible ways to delay or stop this development,” Austin wrote. “Additionally, it appears to me, and many others, that Delta may be providing legal representation to the two Paulding residents who have filed a motion to stop the bond approval.”
Wilkins said that isn’t true.
“He can surmise all he wants, but that’s not the case. It is not Delta,” Wilkins said. “It’s our lawsuit.”
A hearing on the case is set for Dec. 2.
Paulding’s airport authority and its business partner, Silver Comet Terminal Partners, say they have talked with airlines about a few flights a week to leisure destinations, but no plan for service has been announced.
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