Lexington County Chronicle & The Dispatch-News

Our Airport Commission may not be operating exactly like a banana republic.

That’s only how Sen. Dick Harpootlian colorfully describes how they do business.

But Sens. Harpootlian and Katrina Shealy have raised troubling questions about the commission’s decisions. These include the Colonial Life Arena’s $30,000 a season suite they recently gave up after 2 years of a $457,000 deal and up to $26,000 annually on catering.

Airport brass quietly gave up the 16-seat suite with a season left on the 3-year contract.

The Charleston Post and Courier reported they are negotiating to buy more advertising at football, basketball and baseball games with the suite’s $30,000 remaining value, said airport finance director Gregg Hornsby.

Harpootlian, who represents the Irmo area, said they shouldn’t spend money like this but use it to cut parking fees.

“A lot of what they call advertising is pumping money into local entities, this school or that school,” Harpootlian said. That’s not the way travelers choose where they fly to or from.

Price and convenience are why many fly from Charlotte, Atlanta, Charleston, Greenville-Spartanburg or Myrtle Beach which offer cheaper rates and more direct flights.

“I don’t know how many people decide what airport they’re going to fly at a football or basketball game,” said Sen. Shealy of Lexington.

Columbia trails these other airports in revenue, passengers and airline choices. It is only the 4th busiest airport in the state.

The unpaid airport commissioners have perks worth hundreds of dollars a year, trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas and free parking next to the terminal.

Their perks exceed what larger Southeast airports give their governing boards.

Marketing director Kim Jamieson said they aim to bring a 4th lower priced airline here.

The commissioners owe it to the public to answer the senators’ troubling questions about their decisions which seem at best to be self-serving.