Floyd County’s airport is one of six in Northwest Georgia with the potential to attract scheduled air cargo service, according to a newly released analysis by the Georgia Department of Transportation. However, none of them are identified as a sure thing in the Statewide Air Cargo Study.
They are all located in a gap area — outside a 60-minute drive from an airport served by an “integrated express carrier” — which points to a need. But how much of a need is the question.
“Air cargo demand associated with each of the gap areas is currently served by an airport with existing scheduled air cargo service,” the study notes.
An integrated carrier is an operation such as FedEx Express, DHL and UPS, with regularly scheduled door-to-door deliveries. They’re responsible for about 60% of air cargo activity.
Still, a number of factors could work in favor of Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome; Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport; Cherokee County Airport in Canton; and West Georgia Regional Airport in Carrollton. Those four were rated as having medium potential. Two others with low rankings, but still a possibility, are Pickens County Airport in Jasper and Cartersville Airport.
They all have runways that are over 5,000 feet long, the minimum for most feeder aircraft that make short flights to an integrated carrier’s air hub.
Tom B. David Airport in Calhoun checks almost all the boxes, but it’s less than an hour’s drive from Chattanooga Airport in Tennessee and doesn’t have a full parallel taxiway. That makes it less likely an integrated express carrier would want to add it to their network.
In ranking airports by potential attraction, the GDOT analysis considered factors ranging from population and community to connectivity and facility readiness.
The major driver was demand generators — six types of operations that are heavy users of air cargo. However, 86% of them are within a 60-minute drive of an airport with scheduled air cargo service, which doesn’t leave much of a gap, currently.
♦ Retail distribution centers: The study showed 7 in the northwest gap area. They were weighted statewide according to size, with buildings of more than 1 million square feet scoring the highest. Those below 250,000 square feet were assigned the lowest value.
Despite the new speculative distribution centers under construction and proposed along I-75, metro Atlanta and the I-85 corridor had the biggest clusters. The study was initiated in mid-2021 and used data available at that time.
♦ Fulfillment centers: Two were identified in the northwest gap area. Household income counted toward the weight, since higher income often correlates with more e-commerce purchases.
♦ Aerospace manufacturing: Of the 81 operations identified statewide, four were in the northwest I-75 corridor. They were weighted by the number of employees.
♦ Automotive manufacturing: Employment was also the metric for facilities connected to the automotive industry, with 1,000 or more workers netting the highest score and 100 or fewer the lowest. Of the 174 identified, the northwest gap region had 20.
“Automotive manufacturing is relatively evenly distributed across northern Georgia, largely mirroring the interstate corridors,” the report stated.
♦ Pharmaceutical production: The northwest gap area housed 7 of the state’s 294 facilities, which are heavily concentrated in metro Atlanta.
♦ Medical device manufacturing: Also concentrated in research hubs and urban areas, no medical device factories were identified in this gap region.
Other factors in play
A number of other characteristics were assessed to determine which airports in gap areas are best positioned to support additional scheduled air cargo service, “should air cargo carriers have the need to expand their route structures in Georgia.”
They included space for plane parking, along with loading and unloading; navigational support for night flights and inclement weather; ground support services; proximity to an interstate; rate of distribution and fulfillment center growth; easy access for trucks; land available for development; and how close the facility is to residential areas.
Ad hoc air cargo activity — nonscheduled flights — also was an indicator since a higher level could signal a higher potential to attract scheduled flights. Floyd County’s airport averages 1 to 3 ad hoc flights a month, while Paulding, Cartersville and Calhoun only have occasional air cargo flights.
“This type of on demand service is often better suited to individual market/industry needs,” the report notes.
None of the local airports have an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Facility, which would have been a plus. However they’re not a requirement for air cargo operators and many airports that serve feeder carriers don’t have one.
Of the 25 gap area airports studied, just 4 were rated with a high potential to attract carriers — in Augusta, Jackson County, Macon and Valdosta.
But the report also includes case studies of airports in Indiana and Florida that were recently selected for new air cargo service. Ultimately, it boiled down to the inability of other airports to expand to meet growing demand.
“Although integrated express carriers have relatively mature networks, they are always seeking to optimize their route networks to provide improved service. In the simplest terms, this means locating facilities closest to the customer demand... If the center of customer demand shifts or roadway congestion precludes acceptable pick up and drop off times for customers, network expansion presents one reasonable alternative for integrators to overcome these obstacles,” the study notes.
Six airports in Georgia currently have regularly scheduled air cargo service provided by an integrated express carrier, in Atlanta, Albany, Columbus, Savannah, Statesboro, and Swainsboro.
The GDOT report didn’t analyze the biggest mover — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — but recommended state investments totaling $103.7 million at the other five for now.
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
MEET OUR PARTNER
This story is published via a content-sharing agreement between the AJC and the Rome News-Tribune. Visit them online at northwestgeorgianews.com.
If you have any feedback or questions about our partnerships, you can contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams via email at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
