Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 1

27 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 L INCOLN A I RPORT Barth, C.M., Director of Communications and Customer Engagement; and Chad Lay, Director of Planning & Development, about the last two ‘COVID’ years at the airport and the exciting terminal project now underway. BVM: Can you describe how Lincoln Airport contributes to the local economy? Haring: “Our airport is a little unique in that we’ve got such a large industrial park component. We obviously serve the traditional way, where we’re connecting people to loved ones and leisure activities and business connections through commercial flights, and likewise through general aviation. “But we also serve as a true economic resource and driver from the standpoint of providing needs for development, and additional sources of dollars and job creation to the local economy. Our 1000-acre park is one of the largest in the Midwest, certainly, one of the largest at an airport. The other way we connect is to be an active member of the community beyond just economic development and being an airport.” Barth: “One of the big benefits of having the industrial park is that it’s helping us ride that wave of the pandemic this past year. We have some really great tenants that actually grew and are looking for more space. We have just over 300 lease agreements in total at the airport, so we have a big impact on the community and we’re proud of that.” BVM: How have you engaged with the community during the pandemic? Barth: “In the past year, we started showing some drive-in movies. I had the idea to make use of an old Cold War hangar on the west side of the airport and we projected movies up on the side of the building and invited the community to come. We started that at the end of 2020, just to give people a reason to leave their house for a bit. During the pandemic they were stuck in their homes, no school, working remotely, so we tried out the movies and it went over really well. Tickets were free, but once we posted them they were gone within hours, so I knew I was on to something. We spaced cars out so everyone had their own space and felt safe. David Haring, Executive Director