As Georgia’s Airports Age, State Funding For Repairs Lags Behind Neighbors

With its status as one of the world’s busiest airports, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport gets a lot of attention.

But there are more than 100 public-use airports in the state – and many of them are in need of an upgrade. The majority of Georgia airports are at least 60 years old. Many of them were built in the 1940s during World War II; dozens more were built in the 1960s under Gov. Carl Sanders.

The state’s investment in airport upkeep has risen dramatically in the past decade from $1.7 million in 2011 to $17 million this year, but that figure is just a fraction of what neighboring Florida and North Carolina spend.