Aviation View | April 2021

35 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 coated tile ramp, this facility accommodates dual wheel aircraft up to 500,000 pounds. Toby Bennington, City of Anniston Director of Economic Development & City Planning, shares, “Anniston is the county seat for Calhoun County and the center for banking and the hospital and other activities. But there is an elevated level, a higher sense of purpose for the airport that relates to a broader regional economic development. Having a general aviation airport is a catalyst for building your marketing tool for business and industry. For example, it serves as an airport that provides a lot of freight delivery for Honda and other industries in the area. That is a great marketing tool when you’re talking to industrial prospects and you’re focused on the airport as an asset: what that service could be to either an existing industry that wants to expand or a new industry that is looking at the area; and the proximity and the easy access to the airport of what that freight shipment and delivery can provide to all industries in the area.” ANNI STON REGIONAL A I RPORT There are also businesses and industries located to the south of Anniston, particularly in the rural counties and in Ashland, Alabama and Talladega. Anniston Regional serves the same purpose for them – a GA airport in close proximity that they can utilize for freight purposes. Many of these companies are tied to head offices and industry offices from out of state. Whether it be in the Midwest, the north, or out west, it provides an opportunity for their business associates and clients, marketing departments, other connections in the industries to fly their corporate jets in and out of Anniston Regional Airport, as opposed to going to Atlanta or Birmingham. Bennington notes, “Having that access is key because a lot of industries have their corporate teams utilizing their company aircraft. With the pandemic, a lot of that is not being practiced – although, there is a lot of charter activity – but that is something that will come back into play as we move away from COVID-19.”