NEWS

Augusta Regional director expects continued growth at airport

Jozsef Papp
jpapp@augustachronicle.com
Water cannons welcome the first American Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Augusta Regional Airport earlier this month. [MICHAEL HOLAHAN/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

Since the arrival of Executive Director Hebert Judon in 2016, Augusta Regional Airport has grown in a lot of ways, and Judon expects the growth to continue for years to come.

“In the next five years, you’ll see the airport continue to grow, and I’m going to target that growth on really listening and understanding and analyzing our market and the things they need from an airport,” he said. “I envision that we’ll add flights, further mature some of these new flights that we’ve received.”

On. Jan. 7, the airport reinstated a flight to Washington, D.C., and will be adding a second flight to Dallas-Fort Worth in March. Judon said the D.C. flight is a great example of the airport meeting local customers’ needs.

“When I came here, it was very clear from the community leaders (the Washington) flight was an important flight for Augusta because, in terms of an origination point, it’s the largest destination market for Augusta,” he said.

Coming from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Judon said he wanted to bring a lot of elements from a larger airport to Augusta. He said there are certain things, such as the mentality of a larger airport, that work at both despite the size difference.

“You didn’t expect the airport to be comparable to Charlotte, but there were some processes and some amenities and some other elements of a larger airport that I thought we could bring to Augusta to kind of enhance what we do here,” he said.

Currently, the airport has flights to Washington, Dallas and Charlotte with American Airlines and Atlanta with Delta Airlines. Judon said the airport is always looking to add more flights and is in constant communication with American and Delta, as well as other airlines.

For the airport to grow, Judon said local customers need to use the flights now available at Augusta Regional.

“It’s really important to use this (Washington) flight now that we’ve got it and we’ve made the case to the airlines that we warranted this flight. We need to support it and make sure it is successful,” he said.

The new Washington flight departs around 4 p.m., but if the community shows enough support, a second flight is possible, at a more attractive time of day.

With three flights out of the airport, American Airlines has invested heavily in Augusta, Judon said. In Charlotte, he was able to build personal relationships with American Airlines leadership, since it’s American’s second largest hub. He feels those relationships have helped bring more flights to Augusta.

“We would love to have a third or a fourth air carrier in our market, so that’s something that we are always looking at,” he said.

Attracting tenants to the business park at the airport continues to be a priority for Judon. He said they have been working to improve the area and recently put infrastructure there, dealt with some environmental standards and put a notice of availability for potential businesses who might be interested.

In addition, projects such as the expansion of the airport’s apron and rehabilitation of a runway have been added to the transportation sales tax list.

The airport has also invested in passenger boarding bridges, renovated restrooms and replaced a lot of the pavement on the apron ramp area, Judon said.

Augusta Regional recently completed its biggest project, which expanded the airport’s largest taxiway. This year, baggage carousels will be replaced and a new rental car storage facility and rental car operation are in the works.

Judon said the focus will continue to be on meeting the needs of local customers.

“I want us to really understand our customers and what they need in terms of an airport and ultimately provide those flights and those amenities our customers need,” he said.