Airport in spotlight

By Mindy Honey
Society Editor

The opening of Branson Airport, the first privately-developed and operated commercial service airport in the United States, has drawn much national attention recently.

Lynn Berry, director of public relations for the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, said Branson has not received this kind of attention since a “60 Minutes” segment in the 1990s featured the tourist town.

“This changes everything for Branson,” Berry said.

So far, USA Today, New York Times, msnbc.com and Newsweek’s Budget Travel have reported on the airport’s opening, officially set for Monday.

Leading up to the opening, weekend activities will feature the first “Branson Air Show.”

The weekend show has also attracted national media attention, said Gene Conrad, airport deputy director.

“It is all about getting Branson out there,” Conrad said.

Conrad, as well as a list of others from Branson, were to take part in the Jim Bohannon radio show, which is aired on more than 300 stations, Berry said.

John O’Connor, with Geile-Leon Marketing Communica-tions in St. Louis, has been handling the airport’s public relations.

“We’ve gotten quite a bit of national coverage,” he said.

“If it was just another municipal airport, it wouldn’t be getting the coverage.”

According to airport officials, it is common in Europe for the private sector to be involved in commercial airports, but privately-developed and operated commercial aviation is still a new concept in the United States.

Branson Airport officially opens Monday with flights to Atlanta, Dallas, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Air service carriers include AirTran and Sun Country so far.