After 59 years of flights, the Baldwin County Airport has a new name.
The airport handles only small private planes and there are no commercial flights, but the airport committee and county officials hope they will see an increase in flight traffic.
Now known as the Baldwin County Regional Airport, committee chairman Jim Wolfgang says, "the term regional is just something we've added. It does have a connotation of a more professional, wider-ranging service than just The Baldwin County airport."
Wolfgang says the airport serves as a center for economic development, commenting that it's brought in many people who now have settled into homes on Lake Sinclair.
"There are some citizens who don't know we have an airport in our own county," said Alex Ferrand, who works as a liaison between the county and the airport.
Last month, new signs were installed around the airport and on Highway 441 by Custom Signs and Designs.
Ferrand says prior to this there were really no signs establishing where the airport was located.
"We have this big blue sign here. Prior to this, we didn't really have much, so the only way you knew about the airport was Google maps or by driving down Airport Road," said Ferrand.
Wolfgang and Ferrand say the name change is more inclusive of neighboring counties like Jones and Putnam.
"We anticipate people would think the regional name allows them to travel regionally throughout the area and they can do that by flying here and then traveling up and down Highway 441," says Ferrand.
Wolfgang says they currently have a waiting list for over a dozen people who want to store their planes in hangars at the regional airport.
They plan to build more hangars with grant money in the coming months.