Economic Impact of Wyoming Airports Discussed

The Sheridan County Airport is an important part of Sheridan. It brings in tourists, business travelers, and offers local residents flights to distant locales. Commercial planes from Sheridan via SkyWest, can connect to flights anywhere.

Recently, the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission presented an updated study of the economic impact of Wyoming’s 34 public airports, stressing the importance of airports, and how much revenue they generate for their communities.

Five speakers participated in the program, each talking about how local airports effect the community.

Shawn Burke, Aeronautics Administrator for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, who oversees the distribution of state and federal funds for airport development opened the program. He thanked the crowd for coming and talked the impact study they are doing.

He turned over the mic to Trent Holder, Senior Aviation Planner at Woolpert, a WYDOT partner, which is one of the leading vendors of Airport operations tracking systems.

General aviation means everything that is not commercial, including private planes that fly in and out, corporate planes, air ambulance service, aerial firefighting and air applications of weed and pest control for rangelands. All this is a part of the economic impact of local airports.

Holder talked about MedEvac flights to Salt Lake and Denver, and how they save lives.

Marc Cocanougher Woolpert project manager for the aviation impact study for WYDOT took the podium.

He added that United is working on increasing the frequency of their flights.

Casi Crites, and A.J. Schutzman, both of WYDOT Aeronautics each had a short presentation as well.

This study is a help for everyone to see what airports do for communities, what they contribute to the economy of the state and to the counties they serve. It can also be helpful for those who may want to invest in the community.

There are some subsidies to help keep the airplanes flying in and out of Sheridan, and Trent Holder explained,

The presentation was informative and raised several interesting questions. Around 40 people, including city and country officials, attended the program.

For more information about WYDOT aeronautics, go to https://dot.state.wy.us/home/aeronautics.html