The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority's lawsuit against Hernando County changing the name of its airport remains in a holding pattern.
Jon Jouben, the county's senior assistant attorney, said in an email he expected to be served with the official complaint last week but, as of Thursday, he has not received notice.
Economic Development Manager Mike McHugh continues to stand firm on the new name: Brooksville-Tampa Regional Airport.
And the reason, he said, is simple: It just makes sense.
Sure, Hernando Countians are well aware of their position in relation to Tampa and realize they are part of that metropolitan area, he said.
But when out-of-state friends or relatives call up and ask where Spring Hill or Brooksville is located, those same residents will typically tell them they are about 30 miles north of Tampa.
That immediately solidifies the location for those far-off relations, McHugh said.
That is one of the underlying reasons why a focus group decided to incorporate the word "Tampa" into the airport name, he said.
McHugh said renaming Hernando County's airport the Brooksville-Tampa Regional Airport will reap big dividends from out-of-state companies who would have a better idea of the complex's proximity to its urban neighbor.
McHugh stressed Hernando County is not in competition with the Tampa International Airport. Both have their own marketing methods and there would be no overlap, he said.
But the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority doesn't see it quite that way and has filed suit in Tampa against the Hernando airport officials to get them to stop efforts to rename the local airport.
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