Atlanta is one of the only major U.S. cities without a second commercial airport. A deal to bring commercial service to a regional airport in Paulding County could reduce fares and prove convenient for consumers, but it has drawn considerable opposition from some Paulding residents as well as the city of Atlanta and Delta Air Lines, the dominant carrier at Hatsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Here’s a recap of recent stories by AJC reporter Kelly Yamanouchi:
June 27: Atlanta officials sent a letter warning the county they might go to court to block plans for airline operations at Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport. Their argument: Part of the Paulding airport sits on a chunk of land the county bought back from the city several years ago, and the city understood it would be used only for noncommercial aviation. Plans for airline flights are "a material breach of contract, " Candace Byrd, Mayor Kasim Reed's chief of staff, wrote in the letter. Paulding commission Chairman David Austin's response? "It's just B.S."
The threat of legal action by the city is hardly the only obstacle facing Paulding’s plans. Last year, the Paulding County Airport Authority struck an airport terminal lease with a private company and, after months of quiet preparation, announced it hoped to offer limited airline service — a few flights a week, initially, to a leisure destination. Since then, some Paulding residents have mounted legal and bureaucratic challenges that have slowed the airport’s preparations. And no airline partner for the project has yet emerged.
July 1: The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the Paulding airport's right to issue bonds for a taxiway expansion. Residents opposed to airline operations at the airport filed a legal challenge to more than $3 million in bonds for the taxiway work. The court's decision will have little immediate impact because some work has already been completed with other funds that will be reimbursed from the bond issue, while other work is halted pending an environmental assessment. An attorney for residents had argued the county's issuance of bonds is unconstitutional, raising concerns about secrecy, use of county funds and the airport's deal with a private firm that has a lease for the airport terminal. But the court ruled June 30 that the airport expansion would allow Paulding to reap the benefits of commercial flight service, and that other agreements and approvals did not violate the law or the state constitution.
“It’s validation that we’ve done everything correctly, ” Austin said.
Sue Wilkins, one of the residents who filed the legal challenge, said opponents to the airport commercialization “are still committed to pursuing our opposition.”
July 17: The airport authority approved terms for $3.6 million in bonds for the taxiway expansion, pending county board of commissioners approval and a resolution of the legal challenge; residents have filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its June 30 decision. The authority also approved a grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation to pay for an environmental assessment. The study will take at least nine months to complete — pushing the county's hopes for airport commercialization into 2015.
