Ever since we launched Airport Improvement, I’ve used Google Alerts to help source information about airports. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing from all of you airport folks, consultants and suppliers! But Google Alerts help augment what you send by providing information posted by local press about what’s taking place on a micro, local level.

Paul Bowers, Publisher

While I appreciate my local press brethren, their lack of knowledge about what makes aviation tick can be maddening. Specifically, the nuances about who does what. And this goes a lot deeper than knowing the difference between “hangar” and “hanger.”

What am I referencing? How about a headline like, “Airport workers strike in XXX”? The logical inference for readers is that these workers are airport employees, right? Wrong! In this instance, they were either airline employees or contractor workers, not airport employees.

How about this gem during the famous CrowdStrike debacle last summer? “Mass IT outage hits airports.” Was it airport systems that were shut down? No, it was airline systems.

Another favorite of mine is how local press doesn’t differentiate between private parking providers and airport options, implying that airports own/control all parking near their facilities. Hmmm! We all know that’s not
the case.

What we have is a lack of knowledge. How can we expect the traveling public to know the difference if the local press doesn’t know the difference?

Perhaps the industry could develop campaigns to help prevent errant headlines and misinformation. Better yet, how about an Airport 101 course to help media understand how your particular airport works? I’ll grant you that many writers are underpaid and have a history of moving from job to job, industry to industry. It’s a never-ending cycle. But ultimately, it’s better for you when customers are properly informed about how airports operate.

Cheers!