SOUTHWEST GEORGIA REGIONAL AIRPORT

The only commercial flights into and out of Southwest Georgia Regional Airport are from and to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Delta announced plans to add a fourth flight in late 2019. 1 Commercial traffic into and out of Southwest Georgia Regional Airport came to a standstill during the pandemic. Enplanements for 2022 (35,329) recovered to 2012 (35,471) levels, which were considerably lower than enplanements in 2007 (40,978) and 2017 (39,326).

Delta reduced the number of daily flights from three to two, earlier this year. Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is now serviced by jets with greater capacity (69 and 76) than the CRJ-200 (50), which formerly serviced the route. The larger jets provide more space and a first-class option. 2

The General Aviation facilities at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport provide accommodations for noncommercial passengers and pilots. The general aviation terminal is a building which serves general aviation traffic and passengers, and hangars are large metal buildings where aircraft can be parked for extended periods.

The former director of the Georgia Southwest Regional Airport, interviewed shortly after the new commercial terminal opened in 2013, said the general aviation terminal and hangars had been in need of renovation “for some time”. She felt it was “terrible” that the impressive contemporary terminal was “stuck between two large World War II hangars”. The director explained the federal government would not fund demolition or construction of general aviation terminals or hangars for private aircraft. 3

One member of the Aviation Commission, discussing the airport master plan following the departure of the former director, asserted: “The improvements outside the terminal building are critical. The people who don’t fly into Albany on Delta flights, their first impression of the city is these run-down, neglected hangars that leak when it rains. Trust me, there’s been a lot of yakking about this over the years.” 4

The current director stated the long-range plan was to replace the general aviation terminal and hangars with structures that would complement the commercial terminal. 5 He later described the buildings as “dilapidated”. 6 Demolition of the general aviation terminal and construction of a new terminal was listed as a project on both SPLOST VII and T-SPLOST. No funding sources had been identified for demolition of the existing hangars and construction of new hangars until the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) made grants available for capital projects. 7

The old hangars have been demolished and new hangars have been constructed with $11 million in CARES funding. Four new hangars, each with office space and restrooms, are available to owners of private jets and planes who wish to securely store their aircraft. 8 Each hangar can accommodate the largest private jets or as many as four or five smaller planes. 9

The old general aviation terminal has been demolished and construction of the new 5,800 square foot terminal is expected to be completed in January 2024. The terminal will have restrooms, a waiting area, offices for the fixed-base operator, 10 and a conference room, so that corporate representatives and others “can fly in, have their meetings and fly out”. The interior will have a quail hunting theme, 11 which will appeal to those who have traveled to Albany for that reason.

Local funds account for over $4 million of the $6.5 million project. The addition of the new terminal and hangars has elevated the airport’s general aviation operations to a new level and affords private users with all the amenities available at other regional airports in the Southeast.