BY Jeff Pesilli
Special to the DBJ

In October, Tunica County held an official groundbreaking for its new airport, one of several capital improvement projects being built to enhance and diversify the area’s growing tourism economy.
For the past year, work has been quietly underway to make the tiny Tunica Airport one of the largest in the state of Mississippi. By the time the $38 million project is completed, the airport will be tied as Mississippi’s fourth largest and will be able to handle medium-bodied commercial jets, such as Boeing 747s. It will initially serve the gaming industry but is designed to encourage the development of aviation-related businesses around the facility.
The airport, expected to be renamed Tunica Continental Airport will ultimately have a 7,000 foot runway and two terminal buildings. “The first terminal will be designated as an executive or corporate terminal serving mainly turboprops and small corporate jets,” said Airport Manager, Cliff Nash. The executive terminal will have 9,000 square feet of floor space and is expected to be open in the spring of 2003. A 45,000 square foot commercial terminal capable of serving airlines is scheduled to open in 2005.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investing $25 million in the project, while Tunica County’s contribution is $13 million. The state of Mississippi is providing $640,000. Nash said he anticipates the economic impact of the money being spent on the project to be in the neighborhood of $266 million.
The airport reconstruction is part of a comprehensive plan to make Tunica more accessible to tourists, while at the same time helping to develop the area’s transportation infrastructure. “It’s not about having a shiny new place to land planes,” said Tunica County Administrator Ken Murphree, “It’s about economic development and developing a tourism economy second to none. It’s about jobs and it’s about raising the quality of life for our residents.”
Tunica County Airport Commission President Robert Williams said the facility will be one of the most user-friendly airports in the Mid-South.
“It will certainly be a whole lot different from the original grass runway we used when I was learning to fly,” said Williams. “I remember when I was a student pilot, taking off from this airport and making a solo training flight to Springfield, Missouri. When I landed there and got out of the airplane, I thought, ‘What a wonderful airport, I wish we had one like it.’ Well, almost 50 years later, we do.”
According to Nash, the new airport should also spur additional industrial development in the area. “This state-of-the-art airport will also encourage the growth of any number of transportation-related industries, such as air charter services, aircraft storage and maintenance facilities as well as cargo shipping and warehousing,” said Nash. “We hope that an airline will eventually establish a presence here.”
Tunica Continental Airport is one of three major capital projects underway in Tunica County. The county has also commissioned the construction of a $23 million RiverPark and interpretive center and a $12 million championship public golf course located on U.S. 61 in Robinsonville. DBJ