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Bay County, Fla:
Airport officials around the Panhandle start to take notice, as the U.S. Military prepares to bring a new fighter jet to Eglin Air Force Base.
Three years ago, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee, or BRAC, chose Eglin as the location for the F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter Program, training site.
Panama City-Bay County International Airport Director Randy Curtis says the central Panhandle should see great economic benefits.
“It’s going to bring in quite a few operations, and I think greatly expand the activities at Eglin Air Force Base,” says Curtis.
But the F-35 addition could lead to some problems for Okaloosa Regional Airport, which is located on the base.
“It’s going to greatly increase the number of military flight operations in and out of the airport, so I think the airspace and possibly congestion might be an issue for them,” says Curtis.
Eglin’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, predicts airfield operations will double in the future.
Curtis says Bay County should see some economic boost from the Joint Strike Fighter Program, especially with a new airport under construction in West Bay. He says the airport administration here will be working closely with the military and other airports on sharing Panhandle airspace.
The military says the F-35 should start arriving at Eglin in 2010, with the Joint Strike Fighter training site fully operational by 2016. About 100 of the aircraft will eventually be stationed at Eglin, adding an estimated 4,800 people to the area.
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The increase in operations will not be a problem, Randy. Actually the Air Force is quite accomodating and will be construcing additional taxiways solely for commercial traffic. You see, the AF and our Airport need each other. There is a long and storied history between the airport and the AF.
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Good Bob & Tom reference Bat… BTW I was involved in the BAT-21 Search and Rescue in 1972. As for Airports and Air Bases - I don’t see this particular Eglin/Okaloosa Regional becoming a problem large enough to sweat over… although if it did, the new PC Airport would become even more attractive to our region.