Ricin case is ongoing

Six years after GSP scare, questions remain

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009 4:06 a.m. (0)

It was six years ago last October since a threatening message on the outside of an otherwise unremarkable package caught the eye of an alert U.S. postal worker inside a leased mail-sorting center on the property of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

A typed message on the outside label said: “Caution ricin poison enclosed in sealed container. Do not open without proper protection.”

Six days later, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta confirmed a white powdery substance found inside a small metal vial inside the package was indeed deadly ricin.  Continue reading...

 

GSP numbers slow slightly

More than 85,000 used airport last month

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 9:55 a.m. (1)

The number of passengers flying in and out of Greenville-Spartanburg International was off slightly in the first month of the year when compared to the previous January.

Not a bad number considering the economy, but alarming when considering the airport is coming off its worst year in terms of people on planes since the early 1990s.  Continue reading...

 

The ‘Southwest Effect’

Entry of airline into GSP market should lower fares, boost options

MAY 21, 2010 9:13 a.m. (0)

Airfares plummeted at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport last year.

The average round-trip ticket price flying out of the Twin Cities was $321.54 during the third quarter of 2009, nearly $151 less than the year before.  Continue reading...

 

Airport goes green with paving project

GSP Drive will remain open, delays are possible  

MAY 20, 2010 12:29 p.m. (0)

Color Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport’s new paving project green.

GSP Drive, the road that runs in front of the airport’s two parking garages and past Stevens Aviation, will be resurfaced using a new, more environmentally-friendly asphalt which cuts greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage by 18 percent, said Alan Harrison, construction services representative for Sloan Construction Company.  Continue reading...

 

GSP plans expansion, renovations

Infrastructure upgrades to help reduce operational costs

JULY 22, 2010 7:11 a.m. (0)

Work could begin as early as late spring or early summer 2011 on an $80 million to $100 million renovation and expansion of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, officials said this week.

As plans stand now phase one of the work could be done by sometime in 2012.  Continue reading...

 

New security tech for GSP

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 9:51 a.m. (0)

Fewer checked bags will have to be opened at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport because three new high-tech machines have been installed to screen luggage for explosives.

The new explosives detection machines use CT scan technology and sophisticated algorithms to determine within seconds if a bag contains a potential threat, said Mike Tarmon, the Transportation Security Administration’s assistant federal security director at GSP.

“It’s a win-win,” Tarmon said. “The new machines will help us screen checked baggage more quickly and efficiently and fewer bags will have to be opened and checked by hand.”  Continue reading...

 

The fine print

By Dick Hughes

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 8:53 p.m. (0)

Finding Common Ground in Development

Leaders of several organizations engaged in various ways to promote the Upstate for new businesses met Aug. 19 at the BMW Zentrum with town and county officials to update them on their activities and encourage a united front.

“Our competition is not ourselves; our competition is other regions across the globe,” said Dean Hybol, executive director of Ten at the Top, which is building a consensus for smart land-use.  Continue reading...

 

Changes ahead at GSP

Vision Airlines announces plans to offer flights here

JANUARY 21, 2011 10:31 a.m. (0)

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport officials did not have to court the latest low-cost airline to announce service.

Vision Airlines, an airline that got its start offering tours of the Grand Canyon and played a part in last summer’s Russian spy swap, contacted GSP about starting service to Destin, Fla.

“That speaks to the strength that this market has,” said Rosylin Weston, GSP spokeswoman.  Continue reading...

 

Southwest reports 'solid bookings' for GSP flights

Service will begin March 13

FEBRUARY 11, 2011 9:55 a.m. (0)

Southwest Airline’s bookings ahead the March 13 inauguration of service from Greenville-Spartanburg and Charleston “look very strong,” said Gary Kelly, the airline’s top officer.

“We think South Carolina is going to be a wonderful addition to our route,” he told a news conference at the 122nd annual meeting and dinner of Greenville Chamber at the Carolina First Center Tuesday.

Kelly, who is Southwest’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, was the Chamber’s keynote speaker.  Continue reading...

 

Great expectations

As Southwest begins its air operations here, what's in store for the economy, businesses and travelers?

MARCH 10, 2011 1:12 p.m. (0)

Not much is expected of Southwest Airlines.  Not much, just this:

It will force lower fares of all airlines. No longer will GSP be one of the nation’s most expensive airports to use. Charlotte and Atlanta beware.

It will improve service of all airlines.  Those little commuter planes.  The inexplicable cancellation of flights.  Fees on baggage.  Nothing to snack on.  All that, history.  Continue reading...

 

GSP: A History

"Thank God for Mr. Milliken and Charles Daniel"

MARCH 11, 2011 1:23 p.m. (1)

It began with a letter sent in 1945 to Eastern Airlines president Eddie Rickenbacker, inviting him to Greenville to talk about Eastern’s service to the area and the need for a new regional airport location.

Greenville and Spartanburg, back then, had their own downtown airports and the Army, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, told Greenville officials that an airbase would be built south of Greenville to train B-24 and B-25 bomber pilots fighting in World War II. The base was renamed Donaldson Air Force Base in the late 1950s.

As larger aircraft were being built to carry 100 or more passengers, the downtown airports, already 15 years old, were becoming antiquated and unprepared for handling the coming jet age.  Continue reading...

 

Southwest arrives

A plane pull, pep band and a mascot, they’ll all help welcome the airline during weekend celebration

MARCH 10, 2011 1:33 p.m. (0)

Southwest Airlines and Upstate community and business leaders will be doing a lot of celebrating this weekend to commemorate the historic arrival of the low-cost carrier to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

The weekend includes private receptions, a plane pull, a progressive dinner in downtown Greenville, a community service project, First Flight certificates and a round of media conferences.

The service project, a signature event of Southwest’s entering a new market, will be tree plantings in Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Perhaps the most sentimental of the events will be the planting of a tree at GSP at the beginning of a Monday media conference in honor of Roger Milliken. Milliken was the only chairman of the airport commission until his death this past December. The tree plantings are symbolic of GSP and Southwest planting new roots together.  Continue reading...

 

Southwest arrives, now what?

Airline off to a good start in the Upstate  

MARCH 17, 2011 9:54 a.m. (0)

See slideshow above for photos of activities surrounding Southwest's arrival

Greenville residents may want to send thank you notes to the folks in Panama City, Fla.  Continue reading...

 

Here come the sky lots

Increase in passenger traffic at GSP causes parking shortage

JUNE 30, 2011 11:44 a.m. (0)

Greenville-International Airport officials said landing Southwest Airlines would bring passengers who had been traveling to Atlanta and Charlotte because of cheaper airfares back to the Upstate.

Numbers show they were right.

GSP saw an increase in passenger traffic for the third consecutive month.  Continue reading...

 

The happ(ier) traveler

It’s the aim for GSP’s $102 million project set to begin later this year

JANUARY 5, 2012 2:04 p.m. (0)

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport will celebrate its golden anniversary this year with a $102 million terminal renovation project designed to make travel easier and more efficient for passengers.

“The airport has proven over the test of time that it was the right idea at the right time,” said Rosylin Weston, airport spokeswoman. “The terminal renovation is the right idea at the right time.”

It was the idea of the late textile magnate Roger Milliken and Greenville builder Charlie Daniel to transform farmland outside of Greer into a single airport serving both Greenville and Spartanburg.  Continue reading...

 

Warmest March on record at GSP

Active tornado season expected to be the result

APRIL 5, 2012 2:12 p.m. (0)

Last month was the warmest March on record at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, with an average high of 62.5 degrees. Likewise, Asheville had a record month with 56.4 degrees reported as the average.

More than 7,700 daily record high temperatures were set across the eastern half of the nation, compared to 287 record lows. In several instances in the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, morning lows bested record highs and high temperatures soared above mid-summer norms.  Continue reading...