Meeting the Expanding Needs of a Metropolitan Area: The Move from General Aviation to Commercial Aviation

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is the nation's fourth largest urban area, with an estimated population of about 6.5 million people. This area is served by two commercial airports: DFW International (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL). Those airports also serve the residents of the counties surrounding the limits of that MSA; in fact, to the North (where the population growth is concentrated), no commercial airports are available until Oklahoma City, Will Rogers World Airport (OKC). The North Texas Regional Airport (GYI) is located midway; this airport is currently undergoing major improvements, and with the increase in demand in the near future it could play an important role in the air transportation system of the region. This paper outlines the possibility that GYI can meet a portion of the air travel demand from the northern boundaries of the expanding DFW MSA, and from "Red River" counties along the Texas-Oklahoma border. For population living in this region, an expanded GYI would be the ideal airport among those in the DFW area or OKC. The authors define the GYI Primary Airport Service Region (ASR) as the territory within a 90-minutes drive time from the airport. The trip rate (TR) the number of round trip flights per region resident in the ASR is then estimated using the DFW MSA trip rate with a reduced number to reflect the economic activity in the GYI ASR; this leads to a forecast of the potential GYI passenger activity for the next twenty years. The recommended course of action to move from a general aviation to commercial aviation is indicated into three distinct phases, short, medium and long term. Phase 1, introducing cargo activities, Phase 2, begin non scheduled operations, and Phase 3, scheduled operations. The method applied to GYI study could be used to analyze similar general aviation airports that exist in other metropolitan regions.