The Winston-Salem Journal takes a look at Smith Reynolds Airport, which has become a ‘mere’ shadow’ of its former self:
In 1963, Smith Reynolds Airport had 130,000 takeoffs and landings, making it the busiest airport in the state and ranking it No. 85 in the country.
Those days are long gone.
It’s been almost 10 years since regularly scheduled passenger service stopped at Smith Reynolds.
Last month, Smith Reynolds lost its director Larry Scantlin. Although they wouldn’t discuss specifics about Scantlin’s departure, airport officials said they wanted a leader who could bring a fresh approach to promoting the airport as an economic asset.
Interesting comment thread below the article, including the suggestion that Smith Reynolds begin offering incentives to low-fare carriers. That didn’t work out too well with PTI and the Skybus debacle, and could create a situation where the taxpayers would be subsidizing, thus jeopardizing Smith-Reynolds’ status as a self-supporting airport.
