The members of the Aviation Commission got their first look at how the airport fared during the first normal Masters Week since 2019.
Executive Director Herbert Judon, Jr. stressed to commission members during their April 28 meeting that this first report is strictly the preliminary numbers. He anticipates the full report will be finalized by the meeting in May.
“We had some challenges with the weather. And so that that kind of caused some constraints for us,” he said. “But we operated despite that, and we had some other things that normally happen in a big operation. But I think the staff was able to be responsive and continue and make sure that our customers were served. “
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He said they had more than 4,100 airport operations — landings and takeoffs — during the 10 days of Masters traffic. That compares to 3,328 during the same period in 2019.
He attributed the record numbers to pent up demand, people wanting to return to more normal travel after more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
Because of the pandemic, the 2020 tournament was delayed until November and had no spectators. The 2021 tournament was held in April as scheduled but with limited spectators in attendance.
This year also marked the first-time golf fans flying in on private planes used the new Eastern Operations area at 3006 Lock and Dam Ct. It is a new area for private pilots to park their aircraft. It is also a convenience for the passengers and their car services. However, heavy rains on Tuesday and Wednesday caused issues.
“The rain set saturated our road on a couple of days. So, there were there were a few times where we had to pause briefly,” he said, adding, “But we had the staff that did some yeoman’s work and got the road back up. So, by the end of the week, the road was back in place.”
Ken Hinkle, director of Aviation Services, gave commission members the preliminary numbers for jet fuel and ramp fees.
This year, the airport sold just over 585,000 gallons at an average cost of $6.22 per gallon. That compares to the 445,884 gallons sold in 2019 at an average cost of $4.18 per gallon.
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One of the biggest increases was in ramp fees. In 2019, the airport collected just over $1,351,000. The jumped to more than $2.6 million, nearly doubled from two years ago.
Judon said they also learned some lessons this year, especially in the area of ground transportation.
“Taxis and Ubers because there was a time where they were stretched a little bit. So, I told my staff to think outside the box, if that means, you know, going to other cities and trying to recruit taxi cabs that week, or talking with Uber and Lyft, or maybe even something that we do internally,” he said.
He said one more thing they will need to take into consideration planning for next year is the airport will likely be in the midst of an expansion project on the east end of the terminal. The area was designed when airlines servicing the airport flew propeller aircraft into Augusta and people boarded from the ground. Those have now been replaced by jet aircraft and boarding bridges that passengers use.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
