Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 28)

World’s Busiest Airport Puts Clayton County in an Economic League of Its Own H artsfield-Jackson International Airport’s beginnings didn’t portend what a tremendous economic epicenter it would become for Georgia. Situated initially with a five-year, rent-free lease on 287 acres that had been home to an abandoned automotive racetrack, a lease was signed on April 16, 1925, by Mayor Walter Sims, who committed the city to develop it into an airfield. The site was renamed Candler Field, after former owner Asa Candler, a Coca-Cola businessman and former Atlanta mayor. In May 1928, Pitcairn Aviation began service to Atlanta, followed in June 1930 by Delta Air Service. Later, the two airlines (known as Eastern and Delta Air Lines, respectively) would both utilize this airport as their primary hubs. In 1940, the U.S. government declared Candler Field an airbase, its first control tower having opened in March 1939. During World War II, the airport doubled in size and set a record of 1,700 takeoffs and landings in a single day, whereupon it became the nation’s busiest airport with respect to fl ight operation. In 1946, the airport was dubbed Atlanta Municipal Airport and accommodated more than 1 million passengers in 1948, who passed through a war surplus hangar that served as a terminal. Following the airport’s first jet flight in 1957, work on a new terminal began to help alleviate congestion. Atlanta was established as the busiest airport in the country that year; between noon and 2 p.m. daily, it ranked as the busiest in the world. On May 3, 1961, a new $21 million terminal opened, the country’s largest, capable of handling more than 6 million travelers per year, but it was pushed beyond capacity to handle 9.5 million. A master plan was in order to accommodate growth, and begun by the city of Atlanta and the airlines in 1967. Construction was begun on the current midfield terminal in January 1977 under Mayor Maynard Jackson’s administration and was the largest construction project in the South at that time, at some $500 million. It was named for former Atlanta mayor William Berry Hartsfield, a proponent of air travel in the state. William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport opened on Sept. 21, 1980, on time and under budget – designed to handle up to 55 million passengers per year, and covering 2.5 million square feet. Runways have been expanded ever since. With 180 gates, Delta Air Lines alone flew 56 percent of passengers from the airport in 2007. Businesses that supply or serve the airport or Delta, AirTran or other airlines are located throughout College Park, East Point, Hapeville, South Fulton and Clayton counties. Through 2007, the airport held its rank as the world’s busiest, and accommodated 89.3 million passengers and some 976,447 flights. Atlanta serves, as most frequent flyers know, as a major transfer point for domestic flights to and from smaller cities throughout the nation. Still, some 57 percent of passengers passing through Atlanta go on to connecting flights elsewhere. Thus, thousands of visitors to Atlanta yearly see the airport and nothing else. As an international gateway to the United States, HarsfieldJackson ranks seventh nationally; but the airport is increasingly a major gateway for passengers to flights in other countries. Hartsfield-Jackson today has more nonstop flights and destinations than any other airline hub in the world – it serves 243 nonstop destinations, including 72 international destinations in 45 countries. It is only one of a few airports in the world that can perform triple simultaneous landings. Its automated people mover has stations at six concourses and is the world’s busiest. The airport is now undergoing a $5 billion-plus expansion that will boost the traffic, too, at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC). The expansion is slated to be complete in 2015, and will be another boon to the entire state’s economy. ■ Hartsfield-Jackson today has more nonstop flights and destinations than any other airline hub in the world – it serves 243 nonstop destinations, including 72 international destinations in 45 countries. 28 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT Image courtesy of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - May 2008

Georgia County Government - May 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG 2008 Annual Meeting: Highlights County Focus: Clayton County Negotiating a Professional Service Firm Contract: Part 3 Counties Get Involved in Efforts to End Sexual Abuse of Children Smart Growth Scorecard Gives Communities a Way to Grade New Developments Wireless Technologies Critical for First Responders Research Corner: The ACCG Policy Process RDCs Assist the USS Georgia Flag Project Extension News: Animals Take Spotlight in Disaster Planning Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Grady County NACo News: Green Initiative Launches Searchable Database Insurance News: ACCG Announces New Inmate Medical Savings Program County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - May 2008

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