Frequently Asked Questions #1

This post is part of an occasional series of responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you have a question you would like addressed, please email it to westbayflorida@gmail.com.

Why do we have to relocate the airport?

After about five years of intensive public discussion, many people are still unsure why we have to relocate our airport.

It begins with the fact that our existing airport does not meet federal safety and design standards. Its runway safety areas are too short – and it is impossible to bring them up to standard without extending the runway into the bay or the adjacent neighborhood.

The FAA has said that maintaining the status quo at our airport is “not reasonable, feasible, practicable or prudent.” (FAA’s Final Environmental Impact Statement).

Why can’t we fix our current airport site?

Our airport is severely constrained, surrounded on three sides by a residential neighborhood and on the fourth side by St. Andrew Bay. Fixing the current site would cost up to $150 million, and the airport would still have severe deficiencies.

The current facility (and its short runway) forces constraints on airline operations, and as a result, Panama City has the highest airfares in the state of Florida.

Because of the surrounding neighborhood and the bay, there is no room adjacent to the airport for economic development, which prevents the airport from making a significant contribution to the local economy.

What are some of the community benefits of relocation?

The local Airport Authority has been working with the FAA and the community to relocate the airport in order to meet all federal safety and design standards, attract more competitive air service and provide a regional economic development platform.

In the process of developing a plan for relocation, the Airport Authority also embraced the environmental opportunity of a lifetime – the opportunity to protect 40,000 acres forever, including nearly the entire West Bay shoreline.