It's universally accepted that San Antonio's airport dragging down economic growth, but that could be changing, thanks to a new committee that will be looking at long range planning for air travel, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"What I'm interested in from this committee is a conclusion to the eternal question: Where should the airport be 50 years from now," Mayor Ron Nirenberg tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
He's tapped cybersecurity executive John Dickson of the Denim Group to head the working group, which will make recommendations on the city’s airport needs. Mayor Nirenberg wants an answer soon, suggesting that details be determined in six months.
No word yet who will be on the committee, but it's expected to be a mix of business leaders and urban planners.
While the debate over the airport has been simmering beneath the surface, it's roared back to life, thanks to a now-scuttled bid for Amazon's second headquarters.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff was less than optimistic from the start, and his concerns lay with the lack of direct flights.
"AT&T left. Even though we called Toyota, they didn’t consider us," he explains.
Toyota, instead, chose Plano, TX, for their North American Headquarters, despite the 30 minute drive to DFW International.
Giles-Parscle, the San Antonio based tech startup which headed Donald Trump's very successful digital strategy in the 2016 election, recently moved its political operations to Florida, citing, again, the shortcomings of San Antonio International.
Wolff says, currently, about 20-percent of San Antonio flyers chose a different airport. But Mayor Nirenberg points to the recent additions of non-stops, including one to Philadelphia, as signs that the airport's current location is key.
"Where it is today is a strategic competitive advantage. We are making investment in it. It can grow where it's at."
But the working group will also look at whether San Antonio would benefit from investing in a second airport, similar to Dallas's Love Field or Houston Hobby, which serve as centers for regional and low-fare airlines, freeing up more space at the main airport for long-distance non-stops.
San Antonio will have to compete with Austin, which is growing by leaps and bounds.
Nonstop flights between Austin and Frankfurt will begin running three times per week in 2018. That's in addition to their non-stop to London's Heathrow.
Mayor Nirenberg says he's open to the idea of paying incentives to the airlines to get more flights here, but he favors bolstering the local economy, so there is demand for those services.
The cherry on top of the Sundae would be a non-stop to Washington D.C.'s Reagan International, but that would take congressional approval.
PHOTO: SAN ANTONIO AVIATION DEPARTMENT