VALDOSTA — Valdosta Regional Airport is getting a passenger flight back after more than a year.
The airport — now offering two flights a day on a Delta subsidiary each way between Valdosta and Atlanta — will see its third daily flight return in November, said Mayor Scott Matheson.
Three flights between Valdosta and Atlanta a day (except for two on Sunday) had been the norm at Valdosta Regional for years; in fact, in 2020, the airport had plans for handling four Delta flights daily.
In May 2023, Delta cut the route to two flights daily using bigger jet craft, citing a lack of pilots. The same number of daily seats were available for travelers but there were fewer convenient times to fly.
With three flights in place, Delta’s schedule for Nov. 18 shows departures from Valdosta to Atlanta at 6:15 a.m., 12:49 p.m. and 5:23 p.m., while departures from Atlanta to Valdosta will be at 11 a.m., 3:35 p.m. and 7:55 p.m.
Matheson mentioned the third flight Thursday at a special forum about Moody Air Force Base’s involvement with the community. The forum was hosted by the American Association of University Women.
Matheson and Col. Gary Symon, commander of the 347th Rescue Group, discussed the relationship between the base and the city and took questions from several dozen attendees.
Symon said the base has an $800 million annual economic impact on the surrounding area.
Most of the guests attending the forum were women, and many of the questions put to Symon were about opportunities for women in the military.
At Moody, there are 700 female enlisted staff and 101 female officers; women make up 22% of the base’s officer corps, he said.
“The Air Force has the highest percentage of women serving in the officer corps of any service branch,” Symon said.
He said one of the most common concerns heard from female Air Force members is the age-old question: Who’s going to keep the kids?
The question of child care is partially alleviated at Moody with its Child Development Center, a child care facility that offers fees scaled to the parent’s pay grade, he said. However, it closes at 5 p.m. every day.
On other topics, Symon said the upcoming retirement of the base’s workhorse A-10C “Warthog” ground attack fighters and their replacement with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would have some impact on the community — a noisy one.
The F-35 is louder than the A-10C; the colonel said it might not be a good idea to build a fancy new dream home near the south end or north end of Moody’s runways.
“Just remember — that’s the sound of freedom,” he said.