The Port Authority's experts, Kimley-Horn of North Carolina, predicted the ultimate success of the regional airport. However, not all was as it seemed.
In Kinston, N.C., a transpark was built. It was called the Global Transpark, and was expected to create a huge amount of cargo business and employment. According to The Charleston Gazette Online, a 1991 study of Global Transpark "concluded that GTP would create 55,000 jobs and have a $2.8 billion annual economic impact by 1998".
Also according to the CGO and The Raleigh News & Observer, "Three years later, another consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., also predicted big successes for the transpark. The Cary-based engineering firm said that by [1999] the transpark would have 4,436 annual cargo flights carrying thousands of tons of cargo produced by tenant companies with 3,600 employees. Reality has lagged far behind."
There have been only two firms with 140 employees located at Global, and the transpark currently has no passenger flights, due to USAirways Express leaving after a short-term service.
Now, with the looming possibility of another catastrophe such as that happening in Lincoln, Yeager Airport is trying to beef up its resume.
JetBlue, a low-cost airline has announced that it will service 30 cities by 2002. Charleston has made the list of 44 cities being considered by JetBlue.
Yeager hopes that expanding with JetBlue will help the general public see that it should not be counted out, whether the regional airport is built or not.
For more information on JetBlue, as well as other low-cost airlines, please read the third installment of the Huntington Tri-State Airport Series. For more information on Yeager Airport, visit their site at Yeager Airport .
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T. Michael Murdock, Staff Writer