The
Branson Airport
The airport opened on May 11, 2009. It is the first privately owned,
privately operated commercial service airport in the United States.
As part of the negotiations to create the airport, as a liability
shield, and obtain financing, Branson Airport, LLC had to "gift" the
land they owned to Taney County, Missouri in order to lease and
operate the airport privately.
Branson Airport is a public use airport located eight nautical miles (15 km) south-southeast of the central business district of Branson, Missouri. It is privately owned by Branson Airport, LLC.
Airlines Destinations
AirTran Airways Atlanta, Orlando ExpressJet Airlines Chicago/Rockford,
Shreveport Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines Denver Sun
Country Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Minneapolis/St. Paul [all seasonal]
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location
identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned BBG by the FAA
and BKG by the IATA (which assigned BBG to Butaritari Atoll Airport in
Butaritari, Kiribati[3]).
Competition
There are some unusual consequences of the airport's private ownership.
One such issue is the fact that competition is neither desired nor
allowed. When an airline acquires a route to and from the airport, they
will generally acquire an exclusive arrangement with Branson Airport,
LLC, to serve that destination city. �We don�t want suicide fares, two
or three airlines bashing each other over the head until someone says
�uncle� and leaves,� said [CEO Steve] Peet, explaining why the airport
agreed to protect the airlines from competition. �We want to build real
service, sustainable service.� Opening Prior to construction of Branson
Airport, the closest commercial service airport was Springfield-Branson
National Airport 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Branson. That airport is
totally owned by Springfield, Missouri.
The formal grand opening was May 8-10, 2009 during which the U.S. Air
Force Thunderbirds performed during an air show. The first flight
arrived the following day, on May 11, 2009 from Minneapolis-St. Paul on
a Sun Country scheduled commercial flight.
Development and construction
The developers built it as part of the Branson Creek golf/residential
complex land formerly belonging to Tennessee Ernie Ford. The land was
then bought by Glenn Patch, a publisher of Computer Shopper and other
magazines, in 1990 when he bought 7,000 acres (28 km2) in the area to
develop the Branson Creek complex.[8] Patch also owns the franchise for
the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theatre in Branson. The owners have
put the naming rights for the FBO, the terminal, and the entire airport
up for sale. The construction of the airport which involved the
flattening of several Ozark Mountains is claimed to be the largest
earthmoving project in Missouri history. A press release noted that
between groundbreaking in July 2007 and May 2008 11 million cubic yards
of earth had been moved. Plans also call for the construction of an
8,000-seat arena and 15,000-seat amphitheater near the airport.
2350 Green Mountain Dr