MRO of some type, and we’re currently working on what it’s going to take to market that.” On the hospitality front, the addition of a $58 million Wyndham hotel on the airport grounds is in the proposal stage. “We’re in the middle of an industrial park here, and there are no hotels on the west side of Jackson. This will be the first one, and we’re excited about that. Right now, it’s a really good time to be in the airport business in Jackson, Tennessee,” Smith highlights. All of these developments have helped to bring a surge in aviation activity.“We’re running a 300–400% increase. For 11 years, we were relegated to a Cessna Caravan going in and out of St Louis, in and out of Atlanta. And those were eight to nine passenger airplanes,” Smith recalls.“Now, people are beginning to say, ‘If I fly to Chicago, I’m going to be able to fly back to Jackson.’ That’s the hardest thing for small airlines, to make it known in the area that they can do that.” Fuel sales have also grown, with the airport reporting an increase from 300,000 gallons annually fifteen years ago, to a million gallons a year and growing. 43 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 02 JACKSON REGIONAL AIRPORT
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