Time to rethink S.A. airport management

As a community, we speak often of the importance of economic development. How do we attract more companies to set up shop in San Antonio? How do we create more jobs?

These are big, complicated questions. And there are a lot of people in our community working hard to find the answers.

One of the best — and most impactful — ways to attract companies and create more jobs: secure more direct flights into San Antonio. We’ve talked about the importance of this for years. And while we have made attempts for improvement, so has Austin.

Austin-Bergstrom International offers dozens more nonstop flights — including nonstop international flights to London, Toronto, and Cancun. Additionally, according to Cheapflight’s 2016 Airport Affordability Report, San Antonio was ranked as the 56th most affordable airport.

Where does Austin rank? More than 20 spots better, at 33rd.

Guess what folks — we’re losing that war.

Three primary aviation facilities serve our region: the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Stinson Municipal Airport (Stinson), and Kelly Field, which is operated as part of the Port Authority of San Antonio. SAT is our primary commercial airport, Stinson is a general aviation reliever airport, and Kelly Field is an industrial airport. Stinson and SAT are managed by the city and Kelly Field is managed by the Port.

If having airport infrastructure is not the problem, then what is?

As with any growing community, business, government, etc., time often dictates when things happen (and usually with the right intentions and for the right reasons). Unfortunately, as time passes, we rarely look at how our past actions can be improved for the present and the future. The trap of “this is how it’s always been done” rears its ugly head.

Right now, the way our airports operate deters the economic development we so often speak of. Our three airport assets are controlled by two independent entities and operated as three separate bodies in competition with each other.

So how do we change this?

Houston, for example, has two major airports that are operated and managed by the Houston Airport System. Bush Intercontinental is more than 20 miles from the city’s Convention Center, located in the heart of the city’s central business district, and Hobby is about 10 miles from it.

The Houston Airport System’s main objective is to “provide a safe and dynamic air services network that fosters economic vitality for the transportation industry and facilitates a strong level of global connectivity for diverse and growing population.”

Economic vitality and network being the operative phrases.

Houston created its airport system with the addition of Bush Intercontinental in 1969. If it made sense for them almost 50 years ago, it certainly makes sense for us now.

All three of our airports are within a 10 mile radius of the Convention Center, which is located in the heart of downtown. The proximity of our airports to the center of our business district is better than that of most major cities.

Let’s create a San Antonio Airport Authority representative of our whole community. Perhaps we look at how VIA or even the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is structured. Let’s create an entity that develops, manages, and operates our three airports in a fully coordinated manner with input from our entire community. An entity that promotes economic development as the primary mission of our airports. With an airport authority, we avoid optimizing outcomes for the individual facilities and focus on the system (and our community) as a whole.

It’s time for us to put real muscle behind our desire for more direct flights. We have the assets in place to do so — and it’s far past time to figure out how to utilize those assets more efficiently for the betterment of us all.