Glynn Airports Boast Nearly $200 Million Economic Impact
In a world without COVID-19, airports managed by the Glynn County Airport Commission would have an estimated $198.2 million economic impact in the Golden Isles.
That’s according to a series of reports by the Georgia Department of Transportation using data collected before the outbreak led to a nationwide drop in air travel.
Between the airport itself, business tenants, capital investment and visitors, the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport on average drives $68 million in annual spending, generates an estimated economic impact of just under $155 million and supports 1,615 jobs.
According to the report, the Brunswick facility serves 19,219 general aviation visitors and 23,488 commercial passengers per year. The top five destinations for people flying out of the Brunswick airport are Atlanta, Savannah, Jacksonville, Augusta and Gainesville, Ga.
Those economic impact numbers may not be exactly accurate because commercial air traffic was down by about 70 percent below average on Friday, said airport commission Executive Director Robert Burr.
He couldn’t say how much the pandemic has affected the airport’s contributions to the local economy, but the math is a little more complicated than simply reducing the economic impact figures by 70 percent, he said.
“A lot of our business is not related to air carrier passengers,” Burr said.
Fewer passengers are booking the three daily flights Delta Air Lines offers to and from Atlanta, he explained, but the commercial airline is not the only business operating in the airport. The Brunswick airport is also open to private aviators and hosts tenants that offer a variety of aviation-related services.
Similarly, the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport drives $30 million in annual spending, generating an estimated economic impact of just over $43 million and supporting 488 jobs.
Among those leaving the St. Simons Island airport, most fly to Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Savannah or Macon.
Unlike the Brunswick airport, no commercial airlines serve this facility. However, 53,129 people fly into the airport per year. General aviation has not been as hard-hit as commercial flights, Burr said, because many are more comfortable flying their own plane than riding in a passenger jet.
Early in the COVID-19 outbreak, Burr was hopeful the economy would rebound in late 2020. As the pandemic continues to spread and state and local governments continue to mandate business shutdowns and place restrictions on public life and travel, he said it’s looking more and more like true economic recovery may not be evident until sometime in 2021.
As noted in the GDOT’s reports, tourism is the largest industry in Glynn County. COVID-19 put a dampener on long-range leisure travel, according to local tourism officials, which may also play a role.
“A lot of it has to do with the concerns about the virus and the effect of the virus on the economy,” Burr said. “Aviation is a reflection of the economy but obviously the outbreak has hurt our industry more than most. We’re looking for, hopefully, that virus concerns and the health of the country, no pun intended, gets better and we get back to that strong economic growth we were seeing earlier this year.”
Before the outbreak, Delta announced it would be adding a fourth flight between Brunswick and Atlanta to the daily schedule, this one with a larger plane. The pandemic derailed those plans, and the commercial airline dropped two of the daily flights it had previously offered.
The Brunswick airport returned this month to three daily flights, but Burr said he has heard little about the possibility of a fourth. Since March, the company has been employing stronger disinfecting techniques to better clean plans, leaving open seats between parties and requiring mask usage.
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