24-05-2025
ECP celebrates 15 years of service to the panhandle
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, which means the start of summer travel, but that's not the only reason ECP officials celebrated on Friday.
On May 23, 2010, the first plane took off from the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport's runway.
Since then, the airport has served nearly 2 million passengers; a 501% increase that airport officials could have never expected.
'It's just grown year over year over a year faster than I think anybody anticipated. The last few years, we've been discovered and we've gotten more popular than I think we thought we were. So right now, it's a matter of trying to keep up with that while we also grow in a much bigger way,' Airport Authority Vice Chair Will Kramer said.
Since its opening, the airport has added 500 parking spaces, a larger baggage claim area, and is looking to expand the completed terminal build-out. However, the airport wasn't always popular and it wasn't widely accepted by the community when it was first built.
'It was a difficult process for my predecessors and the board and prior to with because the airport wasn't really and nobody wanted it. And look where we are today. We've got the four legacy airlines. We've got new cities every year,' ECP Executive Director Parker McClellan said.
But ECP is growing in more ways than one.
Just a few months after they announced the first ever set of direct summer flights to Laguardia Airport in New York, the airport confirmed direct flights to LGA would become a permanent, daily service starting in November.
They also have expanded direct flights to Texas with Southwest and Delta.
With more flights, officials are looking to grow their food options for the influx of passengers.
Officials have discussed adding a sit-down restaurant and two to three other vending options, which could make way for local offerings inside the airport.
No decision on that has been made.
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