Pullout of Northwest Airlines doesn't mean airport's death

As the Mahoning Valley comes to grips with the fact that after Sept. 8 there will be no commercial airline serving the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, it is important not to let this negative, but unsurprising, news cloud the big picture. The airport is still used by charter airlines and private pilots and is essential for the continued viability of the adjacent Youngstown Air Reserve Station.
In addition, the airport is a catalyst for job-creation at the 88-acre industrial park off Ridge Road. The location of the park is designed to give tenants of the Jet Port easy access to the airport.
While the pullout of Northwest Airlines will undoubtedly overshadow such attributes, we urge local officials, especially the commissioners of Mahoning and Trumbull counties, to turn a deaf ear to those residents who are advocating a total shutdown of the facility. Yes, the operation will have to be streamlined, which may mean budget and staffing cuts, but now is not the time for the Mahoning Valley to decide that it does not need an airport.
Indeed, last month, Mahoning commissioners Edward Reese and David Ludt, who had earlier announced that they were thinking about pulling the county out of the Western Reserve Port Authority, said they had changed their minds and were willing to continue the county's financial support. Why? Because the port authority hired a highly qualified and experienced economic development specialist to help lure companies to the Jet Port.
Rickenbacker industrial park
Bruce E. Miller is the former chief executive officer of Rickenbacker Port Authority and has been credited with landing more than 50 businesses and $600 million in real estate development for a Rickenbacker industrial park. Reese and Ludt believe that Miller's involvement in the development of the industrial park adjacent to the airport will bear fruit. However, the commissioners have also made it clear that the $315,000 annual contribution from Mahoning County to help pay for the day-to-day operation of the airport cannot continue indefinitely.
Northwest Airline's decision, which was based on a variety of reasons, including not enough of a passenger load and the huge revenue losses sustained by the carrier in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America's mainland, does mean that the airport authority will have to conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of the operation.
"The maintenance requirements might be different, the security might be different," says Trumbull County Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo. "There are a lot of unanswered questions." Trumbull County also contributes $315,000 a year.
The port authority is expected to announce next week what cost-cutting measures will be adopted to make up for the $34,100 the airport was receiving from Northwest Airlines. Commercial airline passengers also provide a customer base for the two rental-car agencies located in the terminal.
In the past five years, four commercial airlines have discontinued service to Youngstown-Warren Regional, which raises the question: Is it realistic to believe that there ever will be enough of a passenger base to justify commercial airline service?
That's a question airport Manager Thomas Nolan must be prepared to answer in detail. Nolan has been working with a consultant in developing a marketing strategy for the airport. The goal is not only to find airlines willing to fly into Youngstown-Warren Regional but to sell area residents on the idea of driving to Vienna Township to catch a plane, instead of their going to Pittsburgh, Cleveland or the Akron-Canton airport.
Nolan must also know that Northwest Airlines' decision to discontinue service puts him on the firing line, as it should.