Lanett Airport takes off with record month

BY JOHN BRICE

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LANETT — Lanett City Council Member Brad Lynn provided an update Monday evening on continued progress at the Lanett Municipal Airport, highlighting increased activity, fuel service expansion and future community engagement plans.

Lynn announced that installation of the airport’s jet fuel tank has been completed and fuel delivery is expected imminently.

“The fuel tank for the jet fuel is in place. We get the fuel tomorrow,” Lynn said. “We also got the card reader today. We will be ready to sell fuel hopefully by the end of the week. They have to do some testing on the tank and some pressure testing, but we are making progress.”

Lynn reported a significant increase in airport traffic, even during what are typically the slowest months of the year.

“In the month of February we had 3,364 operations,” he said, explaining that each operation represents either a takeoff or landing. “We report that to the FAA, and that is one of the things we can use to get more funding or improvements to our airport. So the tracking system is working well.”

He noted that prior to recent improvements and installation of the new tracking system, the airport recorded approximately 3,500 operations for an entire year — a figure nearly matched in February alone.

“To put it into perspective, that’s just one month,” Lynn said. “I’m sure all of you have noticed the increased air traffic.”

In addition to increased operations, Lynn reported that the airport sold 2,823 gallons of fuel in February despite unfavorable weather conditions.

“We are working on ways to encourage more pilots to stop, use our facilities and buy fuel from us instead of just coming in for touch-and-go landings,” he said.

Looking ahead, Lynn said the airport plans to continue building momentum through the spring season. He also expressed interest in hosting a public open house event.

“I think this spring we’re looking forward to possibly having an open house where we invite the public out, especially youth, to get a taste of aviation,” Lynn said. “The airport is here for everyone, and it supports everyone in Lanett. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made.”

In Other Business

The Lanett City Council also approved the following items:

• Ordinance 02-26-01 — Franchise agreement with Southern Light, LLC.

• Resolution 03-26-01 — Reappointment of Martha Scott to the Board of the Chambers County Development Authority.

• Resolution 03-26-02 — Acceptance of bid for solid waste collection services.

• Resolution 03-26-04 — Agreement with local government regarding franchise negotiations.