Lethbridge, AB T1K 7L8
EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS
When it comes to discussing airports, most people quite naturally tend to thing of passenger aircraft. This is to be expected as that is the level of exposure most people experience.
The fact is there are also cargo aircraft, air ambulances, executive charters, law enforcement, private aircraft, military, government, survey, training and more types.
Aircaft, though, are only the beginning of the story when it comes to leveraging airport infrastructure for regional economic development benefit. For example, aircraft need to be maintained, repaired and overhauled (MRO). They also need to be designed, manufactured, and certified legal.
An airport is certainly the visual centre of aviation activity but there are also a range of economic, social, safety and security purposes to be served. Looking to the next 50 years, airports will become a key piece of critical infrastructure in networking n increasingly de-urbanized society.
The future role to be undertaken by regional airports is so critical that it is now a prime focus of the US Federal Administration. A new genre of transportation is Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) which holds potential to replace automobile travel in the 100 to 200 km range.
Advanced air mobility (AAM). This is a relatively new concept that uses electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to move people and goods between locations underserved or inaccessible by surface transportation or traditional aviation. With the first AAM vehicles set to enter service in late 2024, the FAA has been pushing to issue operational and training guidelines that will make it easier to use AAM in commercial operations.