In Mississippi, there has long been a saying that goes, “You can’t go to hell without connecting through Atlanta.”

It was a satirical take on the long-held frustration that goes with the necessity of flying east to Atlanta even on destinations headed west, sometimes doubling the airtime for travelers and making connecting flights farther west a nightmare.

As of May 5, people in the Golden Triangle can fly west without first flying east.

What once seemed  an elusive, almost forgotten dream, has come true. At long last, Golden Triangle Regional Airport will offer service to Dallas. This is easily the biggest news for the airport since Delta Airlines began service to Atlanta in 2003, further establishing the airport as the most successful regional airport in the state.

Tuesday morning, GTRA Director Matt Dowell announced an agreement between the airport and American Airlines to establish daily service to and from Dallas through its Skywest Airlines division. The flights should begin May 5.

For more than a decade, securing westbound service had been an important goal for GTRA officials and its stakeholders, including two airport directors, the airport board, the Golden Triangle Development LINK, area industry, Mississippi State University, Columbus Air Force Base and the local governments who supported the project by guaranteeing up to $500,000 to help offset any first-year losses by a carrier who would agree to offer service here.

GTRA used that guarantee, along with up to $1 million in federal and state grant money, as a hedge against those losses. That agreement stood for nine years until the opportunity emerged in December, said Mike Hainsey, who retired as GTRA director in 2022 and has kept in close contact with Dowell, the former assistant director Hainsey recommended as his successor. A unified coalition helped secure the deal that came within a matter of weeks.

“If the community hadn’t made this commitment, which came on very short-notice, it would have been an opportunity lost for probably at least another five years,” Hainsey said. “Credit to them.”

It’s true that this long-awaited goal would never have been achieved without the support of the entire community. It is also true that Hainsey’s role in securing westbound service cannot be overstated, even though the deal would not be consummated until three years after he stepped down.

Every major achievement begins with a vision. It was Hainsey who provided that vision and embraced it even when it seemed unattainable.

For the past 10 years, Hainsey and his successor continued to build and enhance the facilities, including two major expansions. Without those efforts, it is unlikely Tuesday’s announcement would ever come.

Tuesday’s announcement is a culmination of a decade’s worth of work. GTRA was already the state’s most successful regional airport. Securing an agreement for westbound service through American Airlines only reinforces the strength of our airport and the important role it plays in our community.

The future for GTRA has never been brighter.

The sky is, quite literally, the limit now.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.