Less than a year after taking the reins of the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson General Manager Miguel Southwell has a new set of numbers to back up a priority list that includes investing in cargo operations and developing new routes to spur foreign investment and attract visitors.
An updated study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s economic impact released in November showed that while its passenger totals dipped slightly to 94 million in 2013, the region’s main gateway is more important than ever to its success.
Mr. Southwell, who arrived from Miami last year and took up the airport’s top executive post earlier this year, has said that airports should be more than “plants” that simply process passengers; instead, they should be a city’s main driver of investment and trade.
Even as he bids to double down on that role, the numbers make the case that Hartsfield-Jackson is already fulfilling it. Using the study’s widest parameters, the airport spurs $18.4 billion in wages and generates $64.2 billion in total business revenue for the metro area.
Some of those sales come from spinoff activities – purchases made by companies that rely in part on the airport to move their people and goods, as well as the passthrough effect of their workers’ wages being spent in the local economy.
But the majority of those sales – $34.8 billion – comes directly from…read the full story on Global Atlanta’s Airport City portal.
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