Airports across the country have different ownership structures. Some, like Hartsfield-Jackson, are owned by the city, while others, like Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport, are owned by the state. And still others, like Nashville International Airport, are owned by an airport authority.
It’s always news when airport ownership changes happen, and the latest is what’s happening at Mississippi’s Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. In its current structure, the facility is overseen by the city’s Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. But state Sen. Josh Harkins (R) felt the airport needed representation from the community that surrounds it.
Harkins introduced a bill that that would take away the city’s control of the airport and put it in the hands of a new regional authority with representation from three surrounding counties. It would also change the airport’s governing board from the current five representatives, named by the mayor, to nine members, with two seats reserved for city representatives. The bill was signed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) on May 4.
In a statement, Dr. Rosie Pridgen, chair of the airport’s board of commissioners, called Bryant’s signing of the legislation regrettable.
“The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Board of Commissioners will continue to challenge this hostile takeover of Jackson’s airports,” she said. “This legislation is not business friendly, does not spur economic development and totally disregarded the exemplary management and progress of a fiscally sound enterprise. [The] board will continue to defend its airports.”
This fight for control of an airport isn’t unprecedented. In April 2002, the governor of Michigan signed legislation that moved control of Detroit Metro Airport from Wayne County, where the city is located, to the Wayne County Airport Authority. The airport is now overseen by an independent board appointed jointly by the governor, the county executive and the county commission.
In 2013, North Carolina’s Republican general assembly passed a bill that would move control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the Democratically controlled city council to an 11-member commission. A legal battle ensued, with the city eventually winning an injunction to allow it to maintain control of the airport.
Dr. Stephen Van Beek is vice president at ICF International, where he consults on aviation and airport issues. He has also held executive positions at aviation consultancy LeighFisher Inc., the Eno Transportation Foundation, and Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA).
“I’ve worked on changes with airport authorities. Sometimes they’re controversial and sometimes they’re not. What stands out with Jackson is there seems to have been no thorough analysis about the governance of the airport by an independent consultant,” Van Beek said. “There should be someone who can look at the and pros and cons of the change.”
Jackson airport had a tough break with Southwest Airlines leaving, said Van Beek, “But it was a direct result of the Wright Amendment being lifted at Dallas Love Field, which was out of the hands of [Jackson] airport. It was more of an industry trend,” he explained. “The airport industry has been affected by trends including the Wright Amendment, airline consolidation and changes in business models, which is not the airport’s fault.”
Carl Newman, the airport’s CEO and Pridgen said they don’t understand why Harkins introduced the bill. While enplanements are down after the withdrawal of Southwest Airlines in 2013, operations and financials are doing quite well, said Newman.
“After Southwest departed, we took actions to ensure the airport would retain its strong financial position. Since I’ve been onboard, our bonds are highly rated and our debt coverage ratio is strong, at 2.5 times our coverage need,” he said. “Our annual revenue exceed expenses by $4.2 million in 2015. And as of the first quarter of 2016, passenger numbers are going up.”
Newman remembers exactly when he learned about Harkins’s plan for the airport.
“It was on December 15, 2015, when the senator asked for a meeting,” he recalled. “I had no idea what it was for. We met at 4:00 in the afternoon and that’s when he told me about his plans.“He said that he thought the airport was in a location where it needed to have more regional representation.”
Jackson’s board is all African-American, said Newman.
“He spoke in terms of doing this to generate more economic development in the region, including getting Southwest to return,” he continued. “We were already working on that, but there’s no indication that it will happen right now. Meanwhile, we continue to work on air service development issues, including bringing additional low-fare service to the region.”
Rankin County sold the facility’s land to the city of Jackson in the 1960s, so Pridgen wonders why they want to change the deal now. “It doesn’t make sense. Harkin has never been to a board meeting, nor has he offered any data to justify the deal,” she said. “The airport has been very aggressive with its economic development efforts, and it’s outlined in our strategic plan.”Had Harkins done research, he would see work was already being done, said Pridgen.
“All the things he outlined in his reasons for the takeover bill are already happening,” he noted.
Under the legislation, the new regional airport authority would have nine members, with five being Jackson residents, including:
- The Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard, or his designee
- The executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee
- A member appointed by Jackson’s mayor
- A member appointed by the Jackson City Council
- One member each, appointed by the Madison and Rankin county Board of Supervisors
- Two members appointed by the governor
- One member appointed by the lieutenant governor.
“What this does is disenfranchise the city of Jackson,” said Pridgen.
The bill was sent to the governor, who had until April 19 to sign it. If he didn’t sign it within five days of receipt, it became law, effective July 1. But a provision states that the change could not be made until approved by the FAA.
This legislation is not necessarily unusual, Van Beek said.
“The city airport is now being seen as a regional asset, which means that not only do city residents claim it, so to neighboring jurisdictions,” he said, citing Asheville, N.C., and Grand Rapids, Mich.
“In both cases, we analyzed the catchment area, looked at regional interests and found a way to best represent all of them on a new airport authority board,” he said “That’s usually the best practice in the industry. When this is done deliberative, you give a voice to everyone. But if you do legislation before doing a thorough analysis, it makes people wonder what the motivation is for the change.”
