For more than a year, the debate over commercial flights at Briscoe Field has played out in public hearings and protest rallies across Gwinnett County.
But far from the noisy hearings, two companies with plenty at stake have waged a quieter campaign to influence the airport’s fate.
New York-based Propeller Investments wants to launch commercial flight service at Briscoe. The company has employed polling, a website, billboards and even a job fair to convince Gwinnett residents of the merits of passenger service.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has urged Gwinnett officials to reject passenger flights. Those flights could force the airline to transfer some flights from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to compete for passengers.
With the two companies competing for influence, it’s clear there’s more at stake in the debate than what makes sense for Gwinnett taxpayers and nearby residents.
County commissioners recently set aside the debate over commercial flights for now. But the debate likely isn’t over.
A majority of commissioners wants specific proposals from companies interested in running the airport. They say those proposals will help them cut through the theoretical pros and cons being lobbed by both sides in the debate.
“One side wants me to completely drop it,” said County Commissioner Lynette Howard. “One wants me to push it faster and faster like a roller coaster. Both of them are wrong.”
Gwinnett officials have talked of selling or leasing the county airport for two years.
Briscoe serves corporate jets and other small aircraft seating up to 19 passengers. One of three firms that expressed interest in running it — Propeller Investments — has said it wants to launch commercial flights on jets seating up to 140 passengers.
The proposal has polarized Gwinnett residents and elected officials. Proponents say passenger flights at Briscoe could drive economic development and provide an alternative to Hartsfield-Jackson. Opponents fear noise and declining property values near the airport.
Last year Propeller commissioned a poll showing 69 percent of Gwinnett residents favored allowing commercial flights. The company also has used its own website, Facebook and billboards to rally support for its proposal.
Propeller also has pledged to hire local residents if it operates the airport and sent representatives to a local job fair to solicit résumés.
Propeller managing director Brett Smith said his company has invested more than $1 million in its Briscoe Field proposal so far, nearly all of it for research and legal work.
“I’ve done this because I believe in this project,” Smith said.
Some of Propeller’s tactics have riled opponents. Jim Regan of Citizens for a Better Gwinnett, which opposes commercial service, objects to the company soliciting résumés when it hasn’t won the right to run the airport.
“[Smith is] literally out there intimating to people that there are jobs to be had if this goes through,” Regan said.
If Propeller has waged a public campaign, Delta has worked behind the scenes to influence commissioners. Several commissioners said they had been contacted by Delta officials who urged them to reject commercial flights.
The airline opposes any effort to develop a second metro Atlanta commercial airport because it would be forced to move some of its flights from Hartsfield-Jackson to compete. That could weaken the airline’s hub at Hartsfield-Jackson.
Commissioner John Heard said Delta “made it very clear to me months and months ago they have no interest in coming to Gwinnett” but will if competition requires it.
Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said it doesn’t make sense to open another major airport when there is still capacity at Hartsfield-Jackson.
“Diverting resources and traffic away from Hartsfield-Jackson would not be in the best interests of the region, particularly with the opening next year of the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal,” Banstetter said.
Propeller’s Smith said Delta’s position is self-serving.
“They’re opposing something because it doesn’t make sense for them,” he said. “I would say to them, the metro region has been very good to Delta. I would hope that a responsible company like Delta Air Lines would want the best for the community.”
With business interests seeking to influence the debate, Sabrina Smith of Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government worries the concerns of ordinary people might get overlooked.
“The commissioners may view us as, here come those pesky people again,” she said.
Commissioners recently appointed a citizen committee to advise them on Briscoe Field. They say they’re committed to a public debate.
“Nobody can say we haven’t talked about the issues,” said Commissioner Mike Beaudreau. “It’s being fully vetted.”
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