Atlanta Airport(s). Should it be plural? (North Atlanta, Acworth: homes, living in)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And one of my favorites (Regardless of what everyone else says about it. I like it.)
But, here's the issue. What should be done about Atlanta's airport volume?
Atlanta rivals Chicago O'Hare in terms of traffic which is something to take pride in. However, that same massive volume that the city boast about is also probably our leading source of smog.
-Is it time that Atlanta build a second airport? Who thinks so?
-Should Atlanta just use a smaller local airport and upgrade it with larger terminals to handle more passenger traffic and longer runways to handle larger jets?
-Should Atlanta just use nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee's airport to relieve some of the passenger traffic? This will mean that there needs to be a means of transportation between the two airports.
-What about people living in Cherokee and North Gwinnett Counties, should they be without an airport and have to drive all the way to the south side to catch a flight?
Here's my opinion:
I think Atlanta should do TWO things...
Athens Ben Epps needs to step up. They need to upgrade their terminals and runways, then start offering flights to Southwest and Jetblue.
2nd, I think Atlanta should split time with the military at Dobbins Air Force Base, and build a brand new passenger terminal. Dobbins already has TWO runways and one of which is 10K feet long. 10K Feet is already long enough to handle almost ALL major jets in service up to 90% of maxime weight for takeoff. Passenger jets don't usually takeoff carrying 90-100% of their maximum takeoff weight. This means that Dobbins' has one runway that is already long enough to provide jets that will provide trans continental flights. And, it only needs that one runway. San Diego's only Int. Airport only has ONE runway.
The airport would give service to North Atlanta residents, and would also help drive air prices lower because the 2nd airport could service Southwest, Jetblue, Airtran and some other cheaper flights, as well as some Delta, AA, US and United. Would be great to be able to choose to fly in or out of Atlanta Hartsfield or Atlanta Dobbins Airports.
Oh, one more thing. I think they should name it: Atlanta MLK Airport (/Dobbins AFB). Some would call it King International Airport.
It's not name changing silly. Dobbins AFB will remain Dobbins AFB. But, if they double it as a commercial airport, there is no name for that commercial airport. They aren't going to name the commercial airport Dobbins Air Force Base Airport. It's just adding a name.
Okay... Really neither here nor there, but okay...
WHAT ABOUT A 2ND AIRPORT? What are your thoughts on THAT?
IMO, it doesn't really matter- I don't use the airport often enough for it to be an inconvenience to have to travel to Hartsfield from Cherokee County. If I was a frequent flyer, I probably would have taken that into consideration in selecting a place to live.
Drive aside, I don't see why we need a second airport- I've never had an issue with excessive delays, etc., that would indicate that Hartsfield is operating beyond its capacity, so why mess with it? Having two airports split the current flight load would likely result in higher costs due to the two operations, so that's a negative. Add in the challenge of finding an area to put another airport without raising major protests, and it's that much harder to justify. And no, you couldn't just add flights to Dobbins, as the people in that are would raise a stink as well- they've learned to live with Dobbins' relatively minor number of flights per day, but running a full-on commercial airport there would be an entirely different story.
And one of my favorites (Regardless of what everyone else says about it. I like it.)
But, here's the issue. What should be done about Atlanta's airport volume?
Atlanta rivals Chicago O'Hare in terms of traffic which is something to take pride in. However, that same massive volume that the city boast about is also probably our leading source of smog.
-Is it time that Atlanta build a second airport? Who thinks so?
-Should Atlanta just use a smaller local airport and upgrade it with larger terminals to handle more passenger traffic and longer runways to handle larger jets?
-Should Atlanta just use nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee's airport to relieve some of the passenger traffic? This will mean that there needs to be a means of transportation between the two airports.
-What about people living in Cherokee and North Gwinnett Counties, should they be without an airport and have to drive all the way to the south side to catch a flight?
Here's my opinion:
I think Atlanta should do TWO things...
Athens Ben Epps needs to step up. They need to upgrade their terminals and runways, then start offering flights to Southwest and Jetblue.
2nd, I think Atlanta should split time with the military at Dobbins Air Force Base, and build a brand new passenger terminal. Dobbins already has TWO runways and one of which is 10K feet long. 10K Feet is already long enough to handle almost ALL major jets in service up to 90% of maxime weight for takeoff. Passenger jets don't usually takeoff carrying 90-100% of their maximum takeoff weight. This means that Dobbins' has one runway that is already long enough to provide jets that will provide trans continental flights. And, it only needs that one runway. San Diego's only Int. Airport only has ONE runway.
The airport would give service to North Atlanta residents, and would also help drive air prices lower because the 2nd airport could service Southwest, Jetblue, Airtran and some other cheaper flights, as well as some Delta, AA, US and United. Would be great to be able to choose to fly in or out of Atlanta Hartsfield or Atlanta Dobbins Airports.
Oh, one more thing. I think they should name it: Atlanta MLK Airport (/Dobbins AFB). Some would call it King International Airport.
I don't agree with you about the location of the second airport (Atlanta does need one), but I do agree with you in that the second airport should be MLK International Airport/Martin Luther King, Jr. International Airport.
IMO, it doesn't really matter- I don't use the airport often enough for it to be an inconvenience to have to travel to Hartsfield from Cherokee County. If I was a frequent flyer, I probably would have taken that into consideration in selecting a place to live.
Drive aside, I don't see why we need a second airport- I've never had an issue with excessive delays, etc., that would indicate that Hartsfield is operating beyond its capacity, so why mess with it? Having two airports split the current flight load would likely result in higher costs due to the two operations, so that's a negative. Add in the challenge of finding an area to put another airport without raising major protests, and it's that much harder to justify. And no, you couldn't just add flights to Dobbins, as the people in that are would raise a stink as well- they've learned to live with Dobbins' relatively minor number of flights per day, but running a full-on commercial airport there would be an entirely different story.
I hear what you are saying, however you speak of YOUR experience. You may not be a frequent flyer, but what about the North Atlanta side residences that are? What if you live in Acworth, and your job requires you to travel (and I know you said that you would have considered that when moving to Atlanta. But what if you already lived there before the job that requires you to fly?)
2nd, though you may not have experienced delays, I have. I have been in the plane waiting in line to takeoff for over 45mins. And there are many that have stories of longer waits. (I do realize that the new runway may have change that a little so I'd like to hear if anyone has any stories of long waits since the new runway).
I don't know if you've realized, but this has been an issue for some time now. I didn't just make this topic up out of my own curiosity. They (whoever they may be. City leaders or whoever) have been discussing what to do for years now, and there are some who say 2nd airport. Others say, just use Chattanooga.
I say, don't use Chattanooga. We need the new jobs in Georgia, not Tennessee. Create a new airport. Create another 50,000 jobs. Bring it on... Don't give Tennessee more business when we need it.
I don't agree with you about the location of the second airport (Atlanta does need one), but I do agree with you in that the second airport should be MLK International Airport/Martin Luther King, Jr. International Airport.
So, you don't agree with the location? Very well... Even though the runway is already built and long enough for international flights? That would save billions in having to build a new runway from scratch...
Why don't you agree?
Also, with it being so close to the Perimeter on the north side, that gives Atlanta a reason, and a point to try to extend transit service to the NW side of town... Or, maybe CCT can just build their own transit line and connect it to Marta somewhere on the north side allowing people to ride mass transit from one airport to the other...
I'll go with what you're saying... Not at Dobbins... So where? There is an airport in Gwinnett County, but it's not big enough to handle trans national flights... Building a new airport would mean tearing down miles of forest and homes. What would you do?
I hear what you are saying, however you speak of YOUR experience. You may not be a frequent flyer, but what about the North Atlanta side residences that are? What if you live in Acworth, and your job requires you to travel (and I know you said that you would have considered that when moving to Atlanta. But what if you already lived there before the job that requires you to fly?)
2nd, though you may not have experienced delays, I have. I have been in the plane waiting in line to takeoff for over 45mins. And there are many that have stories of longer waits. (I do realize that the new runway may have change that a little so I'd like to hear if anyone has any stories of long waits since the new runway).
.
Can you show me any major airport in the US that hasn't experienced waits like that? It sounds so easy- "lets build a second airport"- but obviously there's alot that goes into a decision like that, otherwise it would have been done a long time ago.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
