The Augusta Aviation Commission approved the Augusta Regional Airport’s latest lease agreement with a designated aviation channeling (DAC) service in its monthly meeting Thursday morning.
Designated aviation channeling services collect and handle data to support airport security and conduct background checks on aviation workers.
The airport’s agreement is with American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Transportation Security Clearinghouse, based in Alexandria, Va.; and entails monitoring and tracking vehicle-for-hire services used on airport property.
“They provide service for geofencing for Uber and Lyft,” explained operation manager Tyler Good to the commissioners. Commissioner Randy Sasser noted that the airport receives a fee whenever transportation network companies such as Lyft or Uber conduct operations on airport property.
Geofencing is the establishment of a virtual perimeter around a real-life geographic area for a specified purpose. “They track all of our Uber and Lyft numbers whether it’s a pickup or drop off, and will send us a monthly report…and send us a check for how much they owe us,” Good said, also explaining AAAE collects a fee from each check.
The agreement is for 24 months, automatically renewing each year for no more than five years.
Augusta Regional also voted to enter into a one-year agreement with Raiser, LLC, a subsidiary company of Uber, in which the airport will charge Uber a $2 fee for pick-ups and drop-offs. Good estimated that Uber performed a total of roughly 18,000 drop-offs at Augusta Regional, last year.
The airport received a $10,000 grant from Destination Augusta’s Tourism Grant Program. The program authorizes the Convention and Visitors Bureau to contribute up to 25% of its tourism funds toward developing new experiences to attract visitors to Augusta.
Lauren Smith, assistant director of marketing and public relations, explained to the Aviation Commission that the monies would be used to supplement public safety measures at the upcoming 2023 Augusta Air Show, which will kickstart at the airport on May 13.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
