John-Glenn Columbus International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins, Akron-Canton and all of Ohio’s commercial airports are at a disadvantage in attracting new airline services. That’s according to the Ohio Aviation Association, which wants the state of Ohio to help change things.
When British Airways looked to add flights from this region to London, the state of Pennsylvania offered $3 million in revenue guarantees. The service is now out of Pittsburgh.
Aviation expert Russell Mills, of Bowling Green State University, said Ohio lost out at least partly because it doesn’t have a state incentive program.
“Ohio is sort of surrounded by states that have done this a bit lately, so Indiana with Indianapolis and Pittsburgh as well," he said. "The question really is—and I’m on the board of the Ohio Aviation Association—is this something Ohio should pursue. And we feel it is, given the competitive environment that exists in the air service world today.”
The Ohio Aviation Association is calling on state leaders to create a $15 million fund for incentives to attract airline services to Ohio airports.
