Chicago has two. So does Washington, Houston, Dallas and Miami. New York has three big ones, and several smaller ones. But why is Atlanta the only top 10 US Metro area with one passenger airport?

In the 1970s, city leaders foresaw the potential need for a second airport. They purchased 10,000 acres in Dawson County in the northeast part of the state, and another 10,000 in Paulding County...about an hour northwest of the city. (The city still owns both. The Dawson County site served as a testing ground for nuclear aircraft. It’s now a wildlife reserve, managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission).

Instead, Atlanta has chosen to invest billions of dollars to build out Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. With around 95 million passengers a year, it’s the busiest in the world. Leaders of the city and Hartsfield-Jackson are now against any second airport. They released their own study in 2011, saying it would be unfeasible.

“In a city like Atlanta, that’s been known for its national transportation hub, it rests in our ability to pull people from across the country into a single airport so we can fill one plane to those major destinations,” Hartsfield-Jackson General Manager Miguel Southwell told GPB in August.

Silver Comet: A Silver Bullet?

In the last decade, Atlanta sold some of the Paulding tract back to the county. Silver Comet Field opened in 2008. About an hour northwest of the city on Highway 278, Silver Comet serves as a hub for private pilots and flight students. The single-runway airport is owned by Paulding County, but managed by private equity firm Propeller Investments. Last year, the company proposed offering passenger flights to vacation spots such as Orlando and the Gulf Coast.

Airport manager Blake Swafford envisions a budget airline, offering a few flights a week. “Our airport is not going to have a high volume of service, it is going to provide another option for local travelers. And I think they’re going to easily fill up those airplanes,” Swafford said.

But nearby residents don’t want those planes at all. They’re concerned about noise and traffic, and filed lawsuits to stop the project. Atlanta-based Delta is also against it. CEO Richard Anderson has said the passenger service at Silver Comet will be a “economic and community failure” The city of Atlanta has said it could join Delta in legal action to stop passenger flights at the airport.

The success of Silver Comet comes down to one question, says airport analyst Mike Boyd. “What airline is going to fly there? Delta won’t! You might get someone like an Allegiant. That’s happened in Concord, North Carolina. But just building an airport doesn't get air service, doesn't get airlines there…especially in an industry where airlines are shrinking.”

Other Options

Other proposals for a second passenger airport have come and gone over the years. Most recently, Gwinnett County commissioners rejected a plan from Propeller Investments to offer commercial flights at Briscoe Field.

Just beyond Metro Atlanta, there’s an airport that wants to lure fliers away from Hartsfield-Jackson. This summer, Chattanooga Airport launched a new marketing campaign aimed at North Georgia, including counties in the the Atlanta metro area.

“I don’t specifically have a number or percentage, but I already see that we serve a large number of those travelers from that North Georgia area,” says airport CEO Terry Hart.

One web ad for the Chattanooga Airport reads “ATL serves 260,000 passengers daily. 259,999 of them will be in your way.”

“If you’re a customer that wants to fly non-stop somewhere, let’s just say, to Austin Texas, I can’t help you. However, we are an airport that is served by many hubs on the airline system route maps. And you can get anywhere in the world through those hubs,” Hart says.

And the top destination for flights from Chattanooga: Delta’s hub in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Hartsfield-Jackson is set to get even bigger. The airport recently unveiled a new master plan, which calls for the construction of a sixth runway and the possibility of a an eighth passenger concourse.

Tags: Bradley George, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Silver Comet Field, Chattanooga Airport. Delta