It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. The brand new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opens on May 23rd, 2010, and Panama City Beach is abuzz with the excitement!
Let’s go back for a second so we can see just how far we have come. Here’s a clip from a PCBDaily article dated September 2008:
“The Panama City – Bay County International Airport Authority announced its intentions this week to construct a 10,000-foot main runway at the new airport in West Bay, subject to obtaining necessary permits and approvals. Construction of the $318 million state-of-the-art airport began in January 2008 and is now nearly three months ahead of schedule. The runway has been graded and paving is scheduled to begin in early October, four months ahead of schedule. “Construction of the new airport is going very well,” said Randy Curtis, the airport’s executive director. “It is truly amazing to see 10 years of planning coming to life.”
In just 8 short days, flights will be taking off from the new airport site on County Road 388, and, if all goes according to plan, bringing in lots of visitors from a much wider demographic. A Southwest Airlines spokesperson has said the low-cost airline has received more bookings than expected for the opening of service to Northwest Florida, so it looks as though we are right on track and set to become one of the nation’s hottest new vacation spots!
PCBDaily 
kudos to the people who brought this new airport to the area. Also kudos for the military decor that is part of the new airport. More than a nod to the industry of the area. We will be flying into the new airport in a couple of weeks. Can’t wait to see it!
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The new airport and being able to fly on SW to get there was one of the main reasons we are coming in a month! I drove down with the kids for spring break, and it was a long drive from KY. I am not anxious to do that again, so the new airport is wonderful!
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Nice militar decor, but too bad the military is pulling out of the area. We can’t even get approved to have a USO in this airport because of all the draw downs. I see this airport being empty from Oct through Feb just like the current one.
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For a PCB condo owner in Michigan who usually flies into the region, this is very exciting! We have already noticed the Southwest affect with more competitive Delta fares from DTW. The only wish remaining would be non-stop service from up here. With Delta we have to connect in Memphis or Atlanta and Southwest requires a Nashville connection for best service. We look forward to returning after Labor Day when the summer crowds have subsided and rates get even better. Our Michigan summers are too fabulous to battle the masses at the gulf beaches in June and July.
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