HYANNIS – A statewide airport economic impact study finds that Barnstable Municipal Airport pumps $208 million into the local economy.
Airport Manager Roland “Bud” Breault said he is not surprised by the report.
“One way to look at this is for every $100 spent by an aviation-related business, there’s an addition multiplier impact of an additional $56 dollars in the local economy, so there’s a huge impact,” Breault said.
The study said the airport’s total impact to the region results in 2,100 jobs and $85 million in salaries.
Nantucket Airport’s numbers were even higher than Barnstable’s, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s study, generating $378 million in total economic impacts.
Nantucket Airport is responsible for 3,800 jobs, according to the study, and Martha’s Vineyard Airport has an economic impact resulting in 1,200 jobs.
Breault said the Barnstable airport’s recent construction project was also a huge economic boost for the region. “Just in the last six years it’s probably somewhere between $80 and 100 million in construction costs, so a lot of that is a direct feed right into the local economy,” he said.
Breault said the study confirms his longtime view of the airport’s economic worth.
“I think it clearly demonstrates the value of the airport to the region. Certainly I always considered us an economic engine for the area. It certainly lends validation to that idea,” he said.