By Parker W. McClellan, Jr., A.A.E., ECP Executive Director
Ten years ago, ECP opened on a 4,000-acre plot of land in northwestern Bay County that was donated by the St. Joe Company. Since then, the Airport has become an essential gateway to the Northwest Florida Region. In 2019, a record-breaking 1.3 million passengers traveled through ECP, and as the Region’s tourism and businesses continue to boom, ECP makes plans to meet growing and changing travel demands.
Over the past decade, ECP has made progressive changes to ensure a positive passenger experience including updating the Airport bar and restaurant, becoming the first commercial airport in the world to install a dual bird/UAS drone detection radar system, offering multiple new ground transportation opportunities, and relocating the Military Welcome Center to better serve our heroes and their families. The most noteworthy recent improvement has been the Terminal expansion project.
With a significant passenger decrease early this spring, ECP and its contractors were able to move quickly to complete construction on the Terminal Expansion Project. The 7,000-square-foot Terminal Expansion was completed in mid-August and relocates Gates 6 and 7. The Terminal Expansion will ultimately provide either ramp loading or passenger boarding bridge opportunities. American Airlines will operate one gate and the other gate will be used to accommodate increased future demand. The multi-million-dollar expansion features close to 250 additional seats with charging stations, giving more room for Airport growth and addressing future passenger and airline travel demands.
Celebrating a decade of growth and success during a global health pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard this year feels bittersweet. ECP is grateful and overjoyed for the Airport’s growth as we look back at the successes over the past ten years. As we celebrate the passengers, partners and team members that were instrumental in the success of the Airport, our hearts also go out to everyone who can’t travel right now, as well as those that continue to be on the front lines in our Region, State and Nation to end COVID-19.
We have come a long way since opening our gates, thanks to the support of our Team, our Board of Directors, and strong community partners including Bay County TDC, Walton County TDC, Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, Bay County Economic Development Alliance (Bay EDA), and Walton Area Chamber of Commerce, to name a few. ECP is poised for even more growth thanks to the collaboration of all our partners.
As we move through the remainder of 2020, ECP is ready to welcome passengers and continues to keep the safety and security of passengers and staff the number one priority. With its ECP Ready campaign, the Airport is prepared to safely connect passengers with the people and places they love. Additional safety measures include hand sanitizing stations, floor decals to encourage social distancing, the installation of plexiglass panels designed for protection, increased cleaning frequency and encouraging meeters and greeters to wait for passengers in their vehicle. More recently ECP Ready has included requiring all passengers and staff to wear face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19. We want passengers to know that we’re ready when they are.
Having a thriving Airport is valuable for the entire Region. It means economic growth for our Region and it means more opportunities for tourism and our local passengers. As part of our Master Plan, we continue to work toward improvements designed to satisfy the long-term projected aviation demand in a logical and financially feasible manner. We are currently in the early phases of a 20-month Master Plan analysis and update. The goals of our Master Plan consider key Terminal Building areas, Runway/Taxiway systems, parking, business development, environmental aspects, and more.
