Augusta Regional Airport prepares for rush during tournament week

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As patrons begin to fly into Augusta this weekend, they’ll be welcomed by the floral sights of Augusta National Golf Club.

Delta Air Lines created a wall of flowers featuring white dogwood, golden bell and azaleas.

The airline also created a welcome sign made entirely of flowers. The airport’s arts program will also be playing live music in the gate area as people arrive.

The airport is putting the finishing touches everywhere else. Officials say the bulk of the golf week traffic isn’t here yet.

Preparing for the rush

With more flights from cities across the country, the airport will need to be ready for the rush.

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“It transforms our entire operation, not only the terminal building, but also all the outside areas and the additional runway,” said Herbert Judon, executive director of Augusta Regional Airport.

That means more staff and more moving parts, all coming in at once.

“Not as many people in the terminal yet, but just a lot of preparatory things going on. So tons of delivery trucks, drivers here to pick up people and just a lot of planning before we get into the really truly busy time next week,” Judon said.

Revenue impact

“We make a lot of money in every element of our operation. On the private side, for landing fees and fuel sales and parking and hangar of aircraft. Obviously there’s a lot of concessions and merchandise that is sold and we get a lot of there. There’s certain user fees that we get as well, rental cars. So this is a huge revenue generation week for the airport and it helps us throughout the year,” Judon said.

Airfield changes

Outside, the airfield changes shape. One runway closes so it can be used for aircraft parking.

“Last year was 160 aircraft on the ground. We have expanded the operation to 500,000 square foot of ramp,” said Kenneth Hinkle, director of aviation services.

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He says this year the airport can have up to 200 jets on the ground at one time.

“For now it’s just like, you know, clockwork, you know, hey, you got to have this, you got to have that. So basically just kind of setting everything up, you know, getting it prepared,” Hinkle said.

In just one week, airport leaders say they can see the kind of flight activity they would normally handle in a month.

“It’s a challenging week, but we enjoy it. We see it as we accomplish it. We see it as a sense of accomplishment each year,” Judon said.