Macon gets second airline

A second airline is planning to start up flights from Macon to Atlanta on the 1st of November. Wings Air bills itself as a way to avoid traffic, parking, and security issues at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The airline started flying from Athens to Atlanta this week. The flights from Macon to Atlanta start up in November. A one-way ticket is 79-dollars.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is pulling out of Macon's Middle Georgia Regional Airport, saying that even with federal subsidies they are losing money. Hawaii based Pacific Wings recently contracted with the City of Macon to provide service and receive that subsidy. That service has yet to begin.
Both airlines plan to fly to Atlanta in propeller planes that hold nine passengers.

Corps looking into Middle Georgia Regional Airport

Middle Georgia Regional Airport is being investigated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is looking for leftover munitions or pollution from the time the airport was a WWII flight training school. So far, an initial inspection at a former pistol range at the site has revealed no concerns. However, officials say some petroleum compounds in the soil of a skeet range need further investigation. Cochran Field was used from 1941 through 1948 as a basic flight training school. It eventually became the current Middle Georgia Regional Airport--9 miles south of Macon.

Army investigates airport hazards

The Middle Georgia Regional Airport near Macon could still be home to leftover munitions or pollution. The airport’s Cochran Field used to be home to a flight training school in the 1940’s. The Army says it’s investigating for hazards. Officials are asking the public for information on the site because records from the era are not complete.

Atlantic Southeast on bubble for Macon airport

The only commercial airline flying out of Macon wants three million dollars a year from the federal government. But the government is balking at the request.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says Atlantic Southeast Airlines wants triple the money it usually pays airlines for traveling to smaller cities. The department would prefer new bids from carriers.

Congressman Jim Marshall represents central Georgia's 8th district. He says even if Atlantic Southeast stops flying to Middle Georgia Regional Airport, eventually a long-term commercial replacement will be found.

"Who knows what we'll ultimately get here in Macon. I expect we will have a commercial provider and that commercial provider will cost taxpayers a lot less than the three million dollars that's proposed by ASA".

Atlantic Southeast Airlines says it needs the federal subsidy because it's losing money on the Atlanta route. Macon's airport has never received this particular federal handout.