New Panama City Airport Cleared for Takeoff

The Panama City - Bay County International Airport and Industrial District, which runs the Panama City Airport, said the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its stay that limited construction for the relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport on property donated by The St. Joe Company.
The order from the court, which delayed construction from its scheduled beginning in November, noted that the four criteria are relevant in considering a stay: "...the likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm if a stay is denied, substantial injury to the party opposing the stay if one is issued and the public interest."
The order concluded, "...having reviewed the briefing on appeal and the administrative record before the agency, and having heard oral arguments on the merits on January 23, we now conclude that these factors balance in favor of the FAA and the Airport Authority."
The New York City-based National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Defenders of Wildlife and Friends of PFN (a small group of Bay County, Florida, recreational pilots) initiated the petition for review.
The St. Joe Company donated 4,000 acres last year as part of a plan to relocate and build a new airport in the area after which permits were issued and $312 million in funding were put in place before the stay was granted on the eve of construction. The new airport would provide longer runways. Part of the plan is the development of 75,000 acres surrounding the proposed airport and the sale of the existing airport for $56.7 million for the 700-acre facility.
Efforts to build a new airport date back to the 1980s and those plans will come to fruition when the new airport opens in 2010, the first new airport built since 9/11. The project also includes what is known as the West Bay Preserviation Area which will preserve the entire West Bay watershed by preserving 40,000 acres around West Bay as well as its 33 miles of undeveloped shoreline and an additional 44 acres of creeks and tributaries.
The first phase of construction includes residential housing, commercial space and a hotel with later phases developing industrial, commercial and retail space, a marina, an inn and additional housing. At $26.3 million Airport Improvement Program grant was secured for the first phase of the airport. The airport relocation is a necessary condition for the second and third phases of St. Joe's 16,000-acre West Bay project.