The relocation of the Cessna Citation Service Center to Mesa, Arizona is shedding light on the future of business promotion at the Long Beach Airport.
At this point, Long Beach officials are afraid of the airport shadow and the anti-airport forces that come with it. City leaders need to be proactive with attracting and retaining airport jobs or we will continue to contribute to Mesa, Arizona’s and other state’s job growth plans.
It is important to know that Cessna’s departure did not occur without the intervention of some city staff and airport management. Even some airport tenants posed alternative options such as offering to build additional hangar space and Cessna considering the 200,000 square foot Abbey Building located on the corner of Lakewood and Spring which would have more than accommodated their growth needs. The Abbey Building ended up being redeveloped to be used to house the Long Beach Fire Department and much of the building will have non-aviation uses thus restricting the needs for additional aviation needs in the future.
The Cessna relocation had more to do with having their center in a region where they could more easily serve customers in Midwest. Also, the cost of doing business in Arizona is less than that of California.
However, the bigger picture here is ever more apparent. Some our city leaders will not permit any active business attraction of the Long Beach Airport for fear that it will attract business and commercial operators that will create more noise. At a minimum, actively attracting business to the Long Beach Airport to operate within the existing noise ordinance is a reasonable expectation and one that has yet to be embraced by city leaders.
Currently, 80% of all fortune 500 businesses operate aircraft and inviting them to relocate to Long Beach, without making the airport part of the attraction in doing business here, does not deliver a solid message that we are serious about their business and the jobs they bring.
Under Mayor Beverly O’Neill’s administration, this type of attraction was done, albeit, very quietly. Our current city leaders act more embarrassed and apologetic for the many benefits of the airport, than actively promoting it as an asset. The absence of vision for the future business development of our airport needs clarity.