Federal relief for airports will have broad reach
Across the nation, volunteers with Civil
Air Patrol have airlifted vaccine and PPE deliveries to isolated tribal nations.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is a triumph of response to the pandemic, giving aid to a wide variety of recipients including small airports, and we should be proud of that. General aviation and small airports are the most accessible and environmentally friendly forms of aviation that benefit their community and deserve every dollar.
Any industry lobbyist could argue their sector deserves government support, especially when according to a 2018 report from the National Business Aviation Association, general aviation created $247 billion in output and created 1.2 million jobs for our neighbors.
The miracle of flight, however, is far more human and uplifting than economic output alone. To understand why aid is important to small airports, we should look at the individuals such as Nickole Anthony who will benefit from this government aid.
Anthony was serving her country in the Coast Guard when she fell in love with aviation. She always wondered what her life would be after her service and after talking to pilots in the Guard, she asked herself, “What if I dreamed bigger?”
Being closer to aviation and those who lived in the industry gave Anthony the courage to pursue her dreams. She became a flight attendant for United Airlines where she worked until she was furloughed during the pandemic.
If you ever wondered if the aviation industry would recover, you should ask professionals such as Anthony. Soon after losing her job, the furloughed flight attendant enrolled at Liberty University to become a pilot herself.
In her eyes, Anthony took a leap of faith to begin flight training, and today she is giving back. She has partnered with Aviation Adventures flight school in Stafford and is calling on pilots to donate items such as toilet paper, detergents, disinfectants, diapers and nonperishable foods to Empowerhouse, a domestic violence assistance organization in Fredericksburg.
The American Rescue Plan increases Anthony’s opportunities and chances of a job waiting for her in the airlines. United Airlines and American Airlines have already recalled furloughs as a result.
Anthony’s volunteerism is an example of individuals and businesses in general aviation giving back to their communities in hopes that those among us impacted the worst won’t need to be left grounded.
With both engines of the economy out, Newport News airport had to lose weight and let go of nearly half of its workforce while reducing pay and benefits by 35% of the employees that remained. Norfolk’s airport saw passenger flights plummet by more than half.
These airports have continued to support their communities. Last month, Norfolk saw medical airlifts on a citation jet flying organ transplants from southwest Virginia, and Newport News receiving
PPE deliveries from student pilot TJ Kim earlier this year.
Airports are important infrastructure for pilots, for which supporting the community is so common, it is practically just another item on the preflight checklist.
Across the nation, volunteers with
Civil Air Patrol have airlifted vaccine and PPE deliveries to isolated tribal nations. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has reported amazing stories such as that of the all-woman flying Organization Aloha 99s airlifting toys and donations to the homeless children of Hawaii.
Ultimately, what aid matters most from the American Rescue Plan is what aid that can make real differences to the working low-income and underserved communities, to which small airports may seem like a small priority.
Nevertheless, aid to airports is an aid to working families. One mile of highway will take drivers one mile, but one mile of the runway can take you anywhere. Runways brought impactful changes to isolated communities that improve the healthcare and economic conditions of the people who live there and deserve all the support they can get.
Andrew Crider,