It's become fashionable lately to bash the San Antonio International Airport, but City Manager Sheryl Sculley says it's not over 'til it's over, and there are major improvements ahead for the Airport, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
She says despite all the complaints about the current airport being too small, not having enough non stops, and not serving as many cities as Austin Bergstrom, all the Airport has done in the past year is to regularly break records for passenger traffic.
"So San Antonio International passenger growth continues to break records," Sculley said. "In August, we achieved our fourteenth consecutive month of growth in the number of passengers."
She says that is despite the fact that hundreds of flights were cancelled at the Airport in August due to Hurricane Harvey.
Since AT&T moved its world headquarters out of San Antonio in 2008, citing a lack of non stop flights, the Airport has been a trendy punching bag. Several other businesses have bemoaned the lack of non stop and direct flights, and the percentage of San Antonio leisure travel passengers who utilize Austin Bergstrom is now up to 20%.
Mayor Nirenberg recently announced the appointment of a commission to decide the future of air travel in San Antonio, including whether to boost Stinson Field as a 'second airport,' much like Dallas Love or Houston Hobby, whether to subsidize airlines for adding non stop flights, like Austin does, and even whether a completely new airport is needed.
Sculley says that doesn't mean SAT is not moving forward.
"We are looking into expanding markets to the east and west coast, Latin and South America, as well as Europe in our future," she said.