Aviation View | April 2021

147 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 P ryor Field Regional Airport is located in Decatur, Alabama, but its future growth is tied to the booming Huntsville metropolitan area. Thanks in large part to the presence of NASA and the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville has been the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state of Alabama for the last 15 years. And with Mazda Toyota Manufacturing investing $2.311 billion in a sprawling Limestone County facility, Huntsville is projected to become the state’s largest metropolitan area by 2022. Pryor Field Regional Airport is located just 15 minutes from the Huntsville International Airport, but the two airfields offer a different experience. “As far as our business travelers, you know we have our steady clientele that come from certain businesses around the airport, and most of these entities do have a presence in the Huntsville metro area,” says Adam Foutz, Airport Manager at Pryor Field. “I won’t get into particulars but there are several that use us in lieu of the facilities over at Huntsville International just because of the ease of getting into our airport versus going to a controlled airport with different wait structures, etc.” While corporate business travel is very much a part of the traffic at Pryor Field today, the airport owes its existence to the military. Founded in the 1940s, Pryor Field was primarily used as a training site for the U.S. Army Air Corps. An AT A GLANCE PRYOR FIELD REGIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: One of the busiest general aviation airports in the state WHERE: Tanner, Alabama WEBSITE: www.flydcu.com PRYOR FIELD RE G A T E WAY T O T H E T E N N E S S E E VA L L E Y