March 26, 2013
Gov. Margaret Wood Hassan proclaimed March 2013 as General Aviation (GA) Appreciation Month in the state of New Hampshire.
“While neighboring states like Massachusetts and Maine have many airports with airline service, New Hampshire has only two,” said Dean Saucier, NBAA’s Northeast regional representative. “That’s why business aviation is so essential in this state.”
Hassan’s proclamation acknowledges that GA and community airports have a “critical” role in the lives of citizens, as well as in the operation of businesses and farms in the Granite State. The proclamation acknowledges the state’s “significant interest” in the continued vitality of GA, aerospace, aircraft manufacturing, educational institutions, aviation organizations and community airports and airport operators.
“Many communities in New Hampshire depend heavily on GA and community airports for the continued flow of commerce, tourists and visitors to our state,” the governor said in her proclamation, dated Feb. 27.
Review the New Hampshire proclamation (PDF)
Tricia Schoeneck Lambert, administrator of the New Hampshire Bureau of Aeronautics, added that the Granite State is a four-season destination for tourists from around the world. “Tourists arriving by GA aircraft have a direct impact on our economy,” she said.
New Hampshire has 11 charter flight companies, 23 airport repair stations, 17 fixed base operators and one flight school. Out of every 1,000 workers in New Hampshire, 8.8 are employed in the aerospace and aviation industry.
Although there are only 24 public-use airports in New Hampshire, another 84 can grant landing permission for business or other flights. Lambert said the FAA, the state and localities invested more than $30 million in state airport improvement projects in 2012.
“Business aviation is essential to connect New Hampshire to all domestic and international markets,” she said. “We are committed to meeting its needs by providing the necessary infrastructure.”
Former Gov. John Lynch issued a previous General Aviation Appreciation Month in New Hampshire in 2011.
Nearly all U.S. states have officially recognized the value of all general aviation, including business aviation, with all proclamations including at least some of the basic tenets of the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign, which was launched in 2009 and is sponsored by NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturing Association.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.