Airports: The Economic Engines that Do

Maybe all the years of noise and environmental complaints have made airport managers publicity-shy, but unless politicians get the message that airports are huge economic engines for their constituencies, they will not get the stimulus money needed to put people back to work in aviation. I have not heard of too many airport projects that were the beneficiaries of much-needed stimulus funds and I am afraid that if we don’t mount a significant campaign to bring attention to the airport jobs that could be created, we won’t get any second-round stimulus funds either.  Politicians need to know that many airport projects – such as resurfacing projects – are labor intensive and can put a lot of people back to work quickly in trades that have been hardest hit. And the small glimmers of hope that the Great Recession is receding has been mainly felt by those lucky enough to still have money in the stock market. The unemployment rate is still hovering close to 10 percent and the under-employment rate remains unacceptably high, as well. And if some question the connection between an airport resurfacing project and aviation activity, they need to be reminded that airports contribute to an entire region’s economy. Data for my hometown airport, Logan, show that the airport contributes $8.7 billion per year in economic impact to the region. In these critical times, we need to make sure that the economic engines that are our airports are running on all cylinders.