It’s one of those ideas that never seems to go away — but never goes anywhere, either.
Atlanta is one of the few major U.S. cities without a second commercial airport, and the idea of developing one has percolated for decades. Supporters say a second airport could bring more competition and, depending on the location, better convenience for northside travelers.
Major obstacles include high costs and the likelihood of intense local opposition to any site considered — witness the response to the idea of privatizing Gwinnett County’s airport, which could lead to airline operations. They are compounded by the chilly stance toward a second airport on the part of Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways.
A new federally funded study this spring re-examined the issue and looked at eight potential locations, concluding none is economically feasible. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed an open records request for the full report and reviewed the findings.
What prompted the study, and why now?
A Federal Aviation Administration study found in 2007 that Atlanta is among U.S. cities that must expand their airports or build new ones in the next 20 years to accommodate forecasted growth in air travel. Then-FAA chief Marion Blakey said the nation might need as many as four more major commercial airports in the next three decades.
The FAA report named Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas and San Diego as the most likely candidates, and it funded a $1 million capacity study in Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport did the initial phase, then hired HNTB Corp. to do the second phase, which studied potential sites and other issues.
What did the study consider?
The study lays out from the outset that a second commercial airport for Atlanta would not replace Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport, but would supplement it. A second airport would primarily serve fliers who live in the Atlanta region and those traveling to it, rather than passengers connecting in Atlanta.
What did it find?
The study focused on eight potential locations, seven of them existing airports that could be upgraded for airline operations: Cobb County Airport, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Gwinnett County Airport, Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport, Barrow County Airport, Cartersville Airport, Cherokee County Airport and an undeveloped site in Dawson and Forsyth counties.
Dobbins and Cobb were found to have the best market potential, but none of the sites was found to be financially feasible.
“Based on our findings, a substantial source of alternative capital financing is required to achieve the right balance between cost and benefit,” the report said.
Why isn’t a second airport financially feasible, according to the study?
A secondary airport supplementing Hartsfield-Jackson would have a significantly smaller customer base. That makes it harder to get funding and raises per-passenger costs. Start-up airports have more difficulty getting federal money and issuing bonds, the study said.
The cost of developing a second airport ranged from $1.4 billion for Dobbins, which already handles large aircraft, to $2.9 billion for Cartersville. That would need to come from federal or local government funding, grants or funding from Hartsfield-Jackson, the study said. Any financing necessary may need to be backed by a local tax authority or some other source of revenue.
Without such an alternate source, the airline rates and charges per passengers to cover the airport costs “far exceed the rates charged at U.S. commercial air service airports,” the study said. That, in turn, would make it difficult to attract airlines. Hartsfield-Jackson has among the lowest costs among big airports.
Do most other major cities have a second airport?
Yes. Of the 15 largest U.S. metro areas in 2010, only five have one commercial airport. Philadelphia is the largest metro area served by a single airport, followed by Atlanta. Other cities with one are Detroit, Seattle and Minneapolis.
In terms of air traffic, 10 of the 13 cities with more than 20 million domestic passengers per year have more than one commercial airport, according to the study. Cities with only one are Atlanta, Denver and Las Vegas. Las Vegas plans a second airport at some point in the future, depending on demand.
Why can’t a second airport work in Atlanta when other major cities have two?
The study noted that the only second airports successfully developed in the United States are international gateways that came on line decades ago to supplement existing, closer-in airports with limited capacity. For instance: Dallas-Fort Worth International supplanted Love Field as the area’s main airport; Houston Hobby became a secondary airport after Houston Intercontinental was built; and Chicago Midway has been the secondary airport since O’Hare International’s development.
Atlanta would be doing the opposite by developing a smaller supplemental airport in support of a larger existing international gateway. That is unprecedented, the study said, as there have been no “successful” developments of supplemental airports to primarily serve local traffic.
What do people think about the findings?
Louis Miller, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson: Even without a second airport, “there are a lot of things we can do [to expand at Hartsfield-Jackson]. We can build more gates, we can build a sixth runway, we could expand our capacity a lot in the future ... We’re good for a long time at Hartsfield-Jackson.”
Richard Anderson, Delta chief executive: Hartsfield-Jackson “continues to expand with the addition of the world-class international terminal that will open next year. Delta’s top priority is to support cost-efficient future growth and investment at Hartsfield-Jackson as needed to meet customer demand and maintain our global gateway in Atlanta.”
Bob Montgomery, vice president of properties at Southwest Airlines, which recently bought AirTran: “It’s way too early to say if we would be interested [in a second airport]. I can tell you that the costs of entry to a new airport are just extremely high.”
Gov. Nathan Deal’s office, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s office and the Metro Atlanta Chamber declined to comment or did not respond.
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