Transportation

QUIZ

Two airports in the American South currently rank as two of the five busiest airports in the world. What two airports are they?

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The South's Newest Interstate?

For years, getting from Memphis to Birmingham has been one of the toughest drives between two Southern major markets. Corridor X, the name of the limited access, interstate-quality highway that is complete from Memphis through Mississippi and about halfway through northwest Alabama to Birmingham might be the South's next interstate if lawmakers in Mississippi and Alabama get their way. While official interstate designation won't be possible for several years, an approval for it is possible this fall. U.S. Rep. Bob Aderholt (R-Haleyville, Ala.) and U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Tupelo, Miss.) are heading up the effort in Washington to get the interstate designation. Corridor X is a 260-mile, interstate quality highway that follows U.S. Highway 78 from Birmingham to Memphis.

Memphis Remains No. 1 Cargo Airport

In an economy like this one, one would think cargo traffic would be down at U.S. airports. Not so at Memphis International Airport. For the first four months of 2002, Memphis' domestic cargo is up by nearly 60 percent over the same period last year, while international cargo is down about 10 percent. Ah, but there's a catch. FedEx's primary distribution hub's numbers this year have been inflated as a result of the company's new contract with the U.S. Postal Service. FedEx now carries about two-thirds of all the USPS's express and priority mail through Memphis International. Without the post office's business, Memphis International's cargo has increased just 5.7 percent from the same period last year. That was enough to keep Memphis as the world's No. 1 cargo airport. Los Angeles International ranks No. 2, even with a decline of 14 percent from last year. Hong Kong dropped 7 percent and remains the No. 3 cargo airport in the world.

FedEx Hub in Greensboro Delayed Again

In 1998, FedEx announced a large air cargo hub for the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. The deal was named one of the top 10 deals in the South that year. To date, the deal has not yet turned dirt. While most of the obstacles have been hurdled to make the deal happen, such as approval of a myriad of permits and from the FAA for the construction of a new runway, two water-quality permits now are delaying the launch of the project. The hub is scheduled to open in 2006 and the delay in granting water permits should not endanger the opening of the hub by then. Yet, if the water permits are not granted by the end of the year, it will give opponents of the hub much needed time to challenge the project again. The proposed FedEx hub has been met with strong opposition from various groups, and a second wave of legal challenges could once again delay the project.

Regional Airline Closes Orlando Hub

If you've ever flown to small towns in the South, you've flown Comair. The subsidiary airline of Atlanta-based Delta Airlines is closing its Orlando hub to get away from vacation travel in order to concentrate on business travel. The Cincinnati-based airline also plans to move its pilot and attendant headquarters from Orlando to Dallas by the end of the next year. Delta subsidiary Chautauqua Airlines, known by flyers as the Delta Connection, will supplant Comair for Florida routes. Its unclear how many of Comair's Orlando-based employees will be transferred.

Dulles Touts Cargo Capability

Citing plenty of undeveloped land for cargo facilities, lower costs and the potential for two more runways, one earmarked for a major air cargo player, Dulles Airport officials have challenged the distribution industry to consider its airport for cargo as opposed to other East Coast hubs such as New York and Miami. Dulles Airport is located west of Washington, D.C. in Virginia. Officials with Dulles are selling potential cargo users of the fact that the airport offers lower landing fees than New York and Miami and lower labor costs. Dulles ranks in the top 25 air cargo airports, yet, handle much less cargo than cargo hubs in New York, Los Angeles, Memphis, Louisville and Miami.

Shipments at Georgia Ports Increase Dramatically

Since fiscal year 2000, container shipments to Georgia's ports, which include deep-water facilities in Brunswick and Savannah and inland ports in Columbus and Bainbridge, have increased a whopping 31 percent. Fiscal 2002 ended on June 30, which saw an 11.3 percent increase from 2001. Much of the increase in shipments can be attributed to automobiles that were shipped to Jacksonville, but are now landing in Brunswick at a rapid pace. Shipments in auto/machinery units increased nearly 20 percent over last year. Also contributing to increased shipments was a 30 percent rise in agricultural bulk shipments over last year.

Work Begins on New Port Terminal in Mobile

The Alabama State Port Authority has begun initial engineering preparatory work on its $240 million Choctaw Point Container/Intermodal Distribution Terminal. The new terminal will be located two miles south of the main docks. The site already has in place adjacent water, rail and road infrastructure. When they announced their plant in Montgomery this past spring, Hyundai officials said they prefer to use the port in Mobile as their primary import and export facility.

QUIZ ANSWER

The two airports in the South that rank in the worlds five busiest are Atlanta (No. 1) and Dallas/Fort Worth (No. 3).