Lanett Municipal Active Once Again After Four-Year Shutdown

As this year's Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's annual Fly-In kicks off Saturday in Frederick, organization officials and attendees alike will have one more reason to celebrate. Thank in large part to the efforts of volunteers with the pilot advocacy group, a small general aviation airport that once was closed has reopened, after four years.

Terming the event nothing short of a "miracle," AOPA says the successful effort to reopen Lanett Municipal Airport (7A3) took unprecedented dedication and cooperation from politicians, pilots, and communities at large.

AOPA says a ceremony reopening Lanett was held May 21, thanks to residents and political leaders in four cities and two states. AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Mike Ballard was actively involved in raising community awareness and support for the airport, preparing necessary paperwork, and working with city and FAA officials.

"To finally achieve this goal is very fulfilling but also exhausting," Ballard said, noting that it took a combination of perseverance, cooperation, and a drive for economic development that led to the opening of a new automotive manufacturing plant just five miles from the field, a plant that will bring jobs to the once-depressed area and benefit from easy access to an airport.

Other factors included the dedication of local politicians. In fact, Lanett Mayor Oscar Crowley campaigned on a promise to reopen the airport—a promise he was able to fulfill. And Crowley was by no means the only elected official who worked to get the airport back in business.

Leaders from the cities of Lanett, Valley, and Lafayette in Alabama, and West Point in Georgia, banded together to promote the airport and keep the project on track. During the reopening ceremonies, Valley Mayor Arnold Leak recognized the cooperation that brought the airport "back from the dead..." and looked ahead to the addition of another runway.

FMI: www.aopa.org, http://cityoflanett.com/airport.html