Aviation – Memphis Flyer

Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Aviation is a key part of Tennesse’s annual GDP

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has released the results of a year-long Statewide Aviation Economic Impact Study. The report, which began as a partnership between Kimley-Horn and TDOT, zeros in on the economic impact of public-use airports statewide.

In the report TDOT revealed that public-use airports contribute $40 billion to the state’s economy, comprising 11 percent of Tennessee’s GDP. Around $12 billion annually is brought in by the airports throughout the state with visitors spending comprising $8.6 billion annually. The vast majority of the $40 billion in revenue comes in the form of freight and cargo, which makes up a little over $19.2 billion.

“A safe, secure, efficient, and resilient aviation system is essential to our state’s physical, economic, and social health,” said Michelle Frazier, director of TDOT’s Aeronautics Division. “This report recognizes aviation as a driver of the economy, including economic recovery.”

Throughout the state, TDOT found close to 7 million out-of-state visitors traveled through one of Tennessee’s 78 airports. The airport system statewide supports 220,936 jobs and 450 businesses.

“Tennessee’s 78 public-use airports are critical components of the state’s transportation network, linking and providing access to regional, national, and global transportation systems,” said TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright.

For their report TDOT divided the state into four sections. Memphis International Airport falls into region 4, which was the second most profitable out of the four total regions. The Memphis International Airport alone brought in $6.4 billion, while the General DeWitt Spain Airport in north Memphis brought in another $31.6 million for the state. The Memphis International Airport is also the nation’s busiest cargo airport due to housing FedEx’s Express Global Hub.

Memphis International Airport is undergoing a remodel and modernization project that would add in much-needed consolidation and structural improvements.

The full report can be read on TDOT’s website.

CIT

Crew Training International instructor working with students

The University of Memphis will begin training pilots this fall with a new commercial aviation program.

The university is partnering with Millington’s Crew Training International (CTI) Professional Flight Training to offer a Bachelor of Science in Commercial Aviation degree.

David Rudd, U of M president said the Commercial Aviation program is meant to prepare students for 21st-century jobs and better position them for opportunities at companies like Fedex Express.

“There will be ample demand for qualified, well-trained pilots in the coming decades, and this program and partnership will help U of M students become top candidates for these careers,” Rudd said.

Students in the program will receive 61 credit hours of professional aviation training, and 59 hours of classroom instruction including courses in business and management. The degree is meant to prepare graduates for careers in corporate and general aviation, other aviation-related businesses, airport operations, and government regulation of aviation.

With a bachelor’s degree in aviation, a graduate’s required number of flight hours to become a commercial pilot decreases by 500.

The program also gives veterans an opportunity to use post-9/11 benefits for flight training costs, now that the U of M is partnering with CTI. Additionally, high school students in the Aviation Study program at T-STEM Academy East High School are expected to “naturally and locally progress into the U of M’s program.”

This will create an “exciting local path that has a global impact,” Jim Bowman, senior vice president of flight operations for Fedex said.

The program will be “uniquely positioned” to support the needs of the local community and address the “looming” pilot shortage. The U of M reports that more than 42 percent of active U.S. airline pilots will retire over the next 10 years. Boeing estimates that in the next 20 years, North American airlines need 117,000 new pilots.

Bowman said as the aviation industry evolves, aviators have to be more tech savvy and better prepared academically than before.

“I’m excited that the University of Memphis is now part of the path to a successful career in the aviation industry, and I congratulate the university’s leadership for having the foresight to create this program,” Bowman said.