Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have always been known as places you have to drive your car to get to. It’s an automobile-driven destination. Down I-65, which can get crowded. On to Alabama State Highway 59, which stays crowded on weekends and holidays. Or on to the Foley Beach Express, which can get more crowded the further south you get.
Now, the Alabama Gulf Coast is adding another way to get there. The new commercial airport opens on Wednesday. There is an invitation-only ribbon-cutting at 12:30 p.m. The very first commercial flight departs at 5:15 p.m.
The City of Gulf Shores, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber and Allegiant Airlines are hosting the event.
The official name of the airport is now “Gulf Shores International Airport at Jack Edwards Field.” Jack Edwards was the long-time congressman from the Southwest Alabama congressional district that sometimes included Baldwin County.
Optimistic forecasts say that 60,000 passengers a year will come to the Alabama Gulf via air.
The new airport will seem small to many frequent flyers. It is not the Atlanta airport. It is an $8 million facility with two passenger gates.
Wednesday’s first flight at the airport will be incoming. It arrives about 1:15 p.m. from Knoxville, Tenn. The guests at the ribbon-cutting will be present in person to watch the first landing.
Its return to Knoxville will depart Gulf Shore at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
The airport has been in operation for 40 years, but for private and charter planes. Wednesday will mark the addition of scheduled commercial flights.
The Alabama Gulf Coast has for years been a popular destination in the Midwestern United States – Knoxville, St. Louis, Houston, Kansas City and Arkansas. Each of those places will have a nearby scheduled flight into the Gulf Shores. Add to that list the more eastern hub of Cincinnati.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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