The Golden Triangle Regional Airport authority got good news Friday about the airport’s safety rating.
Authority executive director Mike Hainsey said last week’s inspection yielded no discrepancies — the third consecutive year the airport has gone unblemished through the process.
“We came through with flying colors,” he said. “We’re very proud of our people for that.”
The inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration was on site two days, Hainsey said. He put firefighters through a drill, checked the airport’s wildlife management program and even measured the size of potholes on the runway.
Hainsey is a former safety director for Columbus Air Force Base. He said GRTA is measured on the same standards as every other airport in the country — large or small.
- Authority members awarded the bid for hangar renovations that will allow CAFB pilots to study and train at the airport while the base runway is renovated.
Hainsey said T&M Steel in Columbus was awarded the contract for $321,000. The project is funded by a multimodal grant from Mississippi Department of Transportation. The grant totals $350,000. He said architect and engineering fees will put the project cost at $350,000.
- The airport had 81 percent of its passenger seats filled in November and December. Delta serves the airport with three daily flights on 50-passenger planes.
- The resurfaced airport parking lot will be finished next week.
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