The Airport
One question that I’m sure is on the minds of so many people in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley: Why in the world isn’t the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport functional with commercial flights? Owned and operated by the Western Reserve Port Authority, the airport that “serves” a metropolitan area of 600,000 (when considering the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area), or just a little over 300,000 (when considering just Youngstown-Warren-Boardman urban area.) However, there hasn’t been a commercial airline operating from the airport since 2016, which was a paltry flight offering to just Chicago O’Hare and was cancelled in less than 2 months.
While we won’t go into the history of the commercial flight offerings at the airport, we will in fact discuss why it’s absolutely necessary for a municipality, and certainly a city the size of Youngstown, to have an operating airport with at least regional flights to connect to larger cities within 500 miles of it. It should actually operate beyond 500 miles, but at least with flights being offered to places within 500 miles, passengers can connect in airports such as New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville (Nashville is actually 552 miles away from Youngstown, but it could fall within the range) and the like. Those are actually final destinations that many people in the Youngstown-Warren area would be traveling to, but to have them as connection destinations at least would enable a great deal of national and international mobility for Mahoning Valley residents without the need to rely on Cleveland or Pittsburgh airports for such travel.
In this vision of a redeveloped and opened airport where commercial passenger flights are operational, a man watches planes take off and land as he waits for his flight to begin boarding. A fully functional airport could open the Mahoning Valley to an exponential increase in economic development, as an active airport is vital to an area’s economy.
Additionally, it opens up the area to travelers from outside of Youngstown to visit family and friends, as well as make business trips to the area. In fact, during Congressman Tim Ryan’s attempt to court Amazon to bring an HQ to the area, it was one of the reasons why they basically laughed at him, that and the low percentage of bachelor’s degree holders, which were two among many reasons why they probably suggested that he couldn’t possibly be serious in his invitation. Amazon requires that there be a legitimate airport (I.e. — one that operates daily commercial flights to major cities and areas around the world) in order for an area to be considered as a location for their offices. Youngstown, (well, Tim Ryan’s D-13 district specifically) doesn’t qualify and the lack of an airport is one of the reasons.
Nonetheless, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is a city that is quite difficult to get in and out of. In addition to the freeway system being inefficient for inner-city and metro-area travel (see our idea about how to correct that), it’s quite a task to get in and out of Youngstown when the destination is hundreds of miles away. Anyone flying in or out of the area must do so via the airports in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or Canton/Akron. This adds extra effort to their journey as they have to be taken to those airports which often means an $80 Uber or Lyft ride if they don’t have anyone to transport them. Even with someone driving them to the airport, the trip is going to demand quite a bit of gas money, and at least an extra hour of time to travel.
This is not efficient travel and nothing that inspires anyone to move to the area (businesses especially), or remain in the area if they are native to the Mahoning Valley. The area needs to have air travel at arm’s reach in order for proper economic stability to be achieved. People need to be coming in and out of the area — and not just by car. As it stands now, travel in and out of Youngstown from remote places is comparable to a town that only had horse-carriage trails when the combustion engine was invented. That is to say that there is only one mode of travel in and out of the town, a primitive one at that, while access to Youngstown from ex-pats, businesspeople, entertainers, etc., could be just a matter of hours. The same can be said for Youngstowners (and by ‘Youngstowners’ we mean all in the Mahoning and Shenango Valley) to be afforded air access to cities such as Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Dallas, NYC, Boston, and even our nation’s capital — Washington D.C.
Can you imagine checking in for a flight at Youngstown Regional Airport and not needing to travel to Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Canton to catch a flight?
As stated when referring to Congressman Tim Ryan courting Amazon to bring offices to the area, many companies actually require there to be an airport in the metropolitan area that can at least offer commercial flights to regional major cities. One can only guess how many companies would otherwise relocate to the area for the low-cost real estate but opt not to due to the lack of airport that their employees and associates would need. The development of the airport actually is tied in with the development of a rail system, as well as the redevelopment of the freeway system. With an operational airport, that would provide some of the demand for the light rail system (to connect all of Youngstown, Warren, and the cities of the Shenango Valley to access the airport for arrivals and departures.)
The airport not only will enable travel to and from Youngstown with respect to remote cities and even out of the country destinations and origins, but what about the jobs it would bring to the Mahoning Valley! What’s more to think about is the businesses and industry it would bring about — hotels along the Route 193 stretch that the airport sits at, restaurants and gas stations that would spring up along the way, the Air BnB properties that would then begin to see more guests, more customers for the area’s taxi’s, and rideshare contractors. Air travel in and out of an area has residual effects on the economy. While it’s likely that the redevelopment and operation of the Youngstown Regional Airport would require the cooperation of many, if not all, of the area’s governments, it’s imperative that at least it’s main city, I.e. — Youngstown, lead the way in calling for this to happen.
Be Notified Of Upcoming Installments Of Imagine A Youngstown