UC Regional Sees Steady Flights During Pandemic

The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport could benefit from a move away from commercial travel to corporate travel.

Airport manager Dean Selby said he’s seen this as a result of the pandemic. He said this kind of travel is becoming more common because corporations do not want their executives to fly commercially.

“We’re already seeing increased fuel cells and increased traffic,” Selby said. “I think that may be better for the businesses in the area, too, because instead of them flying to Nashville and spending the night in Nashville, they’re just flying directly here and spending the night here. That helps the restaurants, rental car companies, the airport, and communities in general.”

Selby said UC Regional offers better quick turns than the Nashville airport. Quick turns give airplanes access to stopping, refueling, and returning to the air in a short amount of time. He said UC Regional can provide 20 minute quick turns on some aircrafts.

Because of UC Regional’s central location to the United States, Selby said the airport has become more used. He said the airport saw a slight decrease in sales in April.

“I have a sense that we’re going to be up from last year just because we are getting more people who would rather come here than to go into the bigger airports,” Selby said. “I think that may be a trend that continues, at least for the foreseeable future.”

Increasing air traffic has led to more business opportunities for the Upper Cumberland. Selby said he’s seen most people visit the area by accident.

“The next thing we hear is six months later is all of a sudden we get a new project where they’re opening a new restaurant or a new businesses of some type that originated from them just happening to stop through the area here and go ‘man, this  is a nice community and these are some nice people around here.'”