GSP International Airport wants almost $300K from Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) requested almost $300,000 from City of Spartanburg leaders during a city council meeting on Monday.

During a presentation on the airport’s near $4.1 billion-dollar economic impact on the Upstate, GSP President and CEO Dave Edwards said the airport needs around $275,000 to fulfill a backstop agreement with Breeze Airways.

“So, a lot of carriers in the markets today, they want some commitments from the community that says, ‘Hey you’re gonna help backstop this to get it off the ground,’,” Edwards explained to the council.

The $1.5 million dollar minimum annual guarantee budget was required to get the budget airline to fly several new routes from GSP , according to Edwards.

Federal regulations prohibit an airline from entering into or fulfilling a backstop agreement so Edwards said VisitGreenvilleSC was taking lead on the initiative.

Edwards said the deal with Breeze Airways was a good long-term investment that will benefit the airport and its flyers.

“The more airlines we can have, serving similar destinations, the better we’re gonna be,” said Edwards. “Competition drives lower prices at the end of the day.”

Spartanburg District 4 council member Jamie Fulmer asked Edwards if there was a breakdown of GSP’s economic impact to show how the City of Spartanburg benefited.

Upon being asked for more details, Edwards said an impact report wasn’t on hand.

Edwards added that Breeze Airways sent an interest letter to GSP saying it would consider flying a route to the San Francisco Bay Area, but only if Edwards can secure a $1 million dollar small community air-service grant from the Department of Transportation.

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