Project Update - Economic Gems: Hidden in Plain Site

Project Update - Economic Gems: Hidden in Plain Site

Project Update - Economic Gems: Hidden in Plain Site
A couple of weeks ago, Steve Landau and I visited Columbus to start up a new project with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. Over the next few months, EDR Group will be investigating, quantifying, and (perhaps most importantly!) describing the myriad ways in which the Columbus airport system contributes to the economy of the city, region, and state.

One of the most significant and rewarding parts of these types of studies is uncovering what might be called “economic gems” hidden in plain sight. Most people only ever experience airports from the perspective of commercial passenger aviation. But really there is so much more going on. You have air cargo operations making sure time-sensitive goods get in and out, general aviation allowing local businesses to be more efficient that they otherwise would be, and oftentimes clustering of related businesses that benefit from airport access on nearby real estate—just to name a few.

In the case of Columbus, here are just a few snapshots I took of what we will be examining:

 

International air cargo operations

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Aircraft maintenance ensuring planes continue to be safe and providing updates to airplane avionics

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And specialized operations that help deliver critical medical supplies on-demand, including radioactive pharmaceuticals that have very tight delivery windows

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Tags: #airport