The Houma-Terrebonne Airport got some extra business over the Super Bowl weekend, but some people question whether airport personnel did enough to promote it.
David Slayter, executive director of the Airport Commission, last week predicted 35 to 50 aircraft coming in for Super Bowl weekend.
But there were only 21 aircraft, Slater said this week.
The airport is one of the closest outside the temporary flight restriction area that was enforced around the Superdome Sunday. It also has a control tower and runway big enough to land a 737.
Slayter said his initial estimate came about because of reservations the airport received earlier last week, but more canceled than he expected, which isn’t unusual.
What typically happens is people will make reservations at a number of airports in advance and take their first choice, Slayter said.
Still, Slayter said the count is significantly more than what the airport normally gets, just “not as many as what we were expecting.”
Maybe, just maybe, fewer people flew overall because they don’t want to be treated like terrorists at the airport. Maybe more people drove this year because they don’t want to be subjected to possible x-rays, strip-searches, poking, prodding, luggage searches, and detainment just to go see a football game.
But what do I know? I’m just an average guy with a blog who hasn’t flown in decades.
