Takeoff delayed for Paulding airport plan | www.myajc.com

It’s been nearly three months since Paulding County leaders went public with a plan to attract airline service and become home to the second commercial airport in metro Atlanta.

But very little has gone according to their plan since then.

Some 35 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, the remote bedroom community of Paulding County has been hit hard by the housing … read more

Backers have encountered a series of setbacks — and their hopes for an announcement of new air service have been pushed off to next year.

Paulding commission chairman David Austin said he is undeterred, though he likened the effort to “being down in the mud and trying to trench through.”

Brett Smith, whose company is partnering with Paulding on the idea and would operate the airport under contract, said the obstacles are “merely bumps along a much longer road.”

Those bumps include legal challenges brought by Paulding residents who felt blindsided by the plan — put together over months with no public input or awareness — and who are concerned about noise and congestion.

The challenges have delayed regulatory approvals and funding for facilities improvements needed before Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport can handle airliners.

Meanwhile, the most critical element of any plan for such operations — an airline — has yet to emerge. The most likely candidate is a Nevada-based discounter called Allegiant Airlines.

via Takeoff delayed for Paulding airport plan | www.myajc.com.