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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Letter To The Editor Regarding The Salisbury Airport

I'm a weekly traveler thru SBY & have been for many, many years & I'm on a first name basis with just about everyone there. Over the years I've noticed a downward trend there. Maintenance there is getting worse not only outside but inside is horrendous. Joe, while you were there photographing the fighter, did you happen to go further into the airport to see the huge hole in the ceiling? It fell on June 6, 2010. I know because I happened to be making an unforeseen flight out that day. I'm usually on the first flight that leaves for Philadelphia at 5:50 a.m. weekly, but that Saturday (as all Saturdays) there isn't a 5:50 flight so I took the 7:30 flight. When I arrived at the airport the entire middle section of the terminal was roped off with huge ceiling tiles all over the floors as well as the seating area directly UNDER the area that fell. Had there been that 5:50 flight & people sitting there waiting for their flight, there would have been many injuries as even the metal pieces that hold up the tiles had fallen on the floor.

In talking with some employees there it is quite evident that management, such as it is, does nothing. Personally from what I've seen on tv, all Bob Bryant is interested in is giving interviews.

What kind of airport doesn't have sufficient heating/ac. Believe me when I say I've been there when it's sweltering in there with no a/c & in the winter I see employees walking around with coats on to keep warm as the heating system, again, isn't sufficient. The heating/ac system is antiquated.

While sitting there waiting for my flight I look at the skylights as well as the ventilation areas & there is so much dirt, dust & who knows...maybe mold. Is this anyway to run an airport????

It can't even hold a cafe. They now have vending machines & for the longest time there wasn't even a coffee machine. I understand from some employees that they had to go above Bob's head (which isn't very far) to get the coffee machine. But once you're in the holding area before you board the flight there are no vending machines in there. When there is a delay, it's back & forth out of that area to get something to eat & we can't being any liquids in there. I understand that Bob didn't want machines in that area. So much for customer service.

I did find out that it was a plea to the airport commissioners that got the coffee machines in there. They got the tv's in there & the people are most happy. Kudos to them. That is a blessing. What kind of airport doesn't have coffee when you're flying out in unGodly hours.

Yet Bob got a new county vehicle & he lives less than 2 miles from the airport. Man, talk about government waste..he is...I mean that is. With the appearance of the inside as well as the outside of the airport, it's no wonder another airline doesn't want to come to this area. This area is ripe for another airline. It's a fast growing market & going to Philadelphia/Charlotte doesn't cut it. How seriously is this area/airport being marketed to other airlines & I'm not talking about the phantom airline with flights in late 2011 as I've read in your other posts? Something needs to be done out there & there needs to be management that actually cares about the airport and MOSTLY about the passengers & customer service. It is a disgrace!!!!!

By the way...the ceiling still hasn't been replace & today is July 19, 2010!!!!!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why isn't Bob Bryant out there with a spray jug of weed killer? How much money does his make for sitting around? If it's not in the money to hire maintenance person, then he could at least kill the weeds. As a manager I work 70-80 hours a week, and no it's not pushing paper. It's doing actual work, including scrubbing toilets and taking out the trash. I know the managers of even little retail branches of banks that are called in all kinds of ungodly hours and work like 55 hours a week.

A Local Contractor said...

I haven't seen the ceiling repair job on the city or county bid boards... where would I find that? I'm looking for jobs to bid on to keep my men busy.

Jack K Richards said...

What a disgrace.....All American City Baa humbug (I know, I know the airport is not in the city) This just seems to be the trend that permeates the Salisbury area. God help it if Salisbury does not soon get some decent guidance. Look at the Old Mall property for another example, I have seen pictures of the downtown area with overflowing trash cans and weeds in that area too. This old retired ex-Salisburian would be ashamed were I still living there. Put the prisoners to work cleaning up areas like this. They would welcome the chance to get a couple days outside jackkcharl@aol.com

Anonymous said...

I used to use Salisbury airport all the time. No more now I drive to BWI, better prices, better service.

Anonymous said...

As I stated yesterday, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Our airport is the gateway for people coming here to do business, and for visitors to our area.

Is this the kind of impression we want to give?

I think not!

Anonymous said...

This is not the first time he has been reprimanded for weeds at the airport.

How many times does it take for the airport commission to tell him how to do his job.

GEESH - - I wish he would get with the program. If I were the airport commission I would remove him immediately and also all of his cohorts.

Anonymous said...

Bob is a poser. He likes to smile for the camera but he doesn't do squat.

Anonymous said...

Sanitary conditions at airport restrooms? Filthy!

While meeting an arriving flight Sunday, we found the restrooms filthy!
With no outgoing flights, TSA and screening shut down, and the terminal deserted surely this would offer ample opportunity to clean the restrooms.
The lone employee wandered lackadaisically seemily searching for ways to kill time.

Anonymous said...

You're a "traveler" giving an arm's length analysis of the problems of the airport, and yet you know what kind of car, and age of the car the Airport Manager drives, and where he lives?

Stop pretending. You're obviously a disgruntled employee out to get your boss.

Anonymous said...

He lives close to the airport, he is a politican and a "yes" man to the airport commision,one person keeps the airport above water and operating. Know from experience.

Anonymous said...

I am not an disgruntled employee and I know where he lives too. Ward Road to be exact. I suspect he gets so many interviews because his wife works at WBOC. You may have heard of her because she she is a reporter. Her name is Lisa Bryant.

Anonymous said...

Bob Bryant is absolutely worthless. If people only knew what he does on a daily basis they'd sue him to get their tax money back. We need someone else in that position other than him.

Anonymous said...

As I have said over the years, Bryant needs to be removed and get a manager in there that knows how to revitalize our gateway. He would be fired if he "worked" anywhere else.
I just had two guests fly in to perform a quality survey on my buisness. I received a great report and a comment that we should use BWI, it's cleaner, less expensive and better customer service.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with most of the comments in here....Mr. Bryant seems more interested in doing interviews and telling us that there is going to be another carrier coming in here - but its a big secret however!
I worked at the airport many years ago when a man by the name of Jim Lamar (now deceased) was the manager! He worked around the clock to keep the airport runways, parking lots, terminal, etc looking good. I doubt Mr. Bryant knows how to even pick up a piece of trash from the parking lots - that would be beneath him to have to do that! But bring those camera interviews out there and he is first in line to talk and be seen......waste of our precious tax money!

smitty240 said...

Some years back while working at the airport in SBY, on one particular holiday the flag had not been raised at the terminal. I mentioned this to a coworker that was a retired Air Force veteran and he became livid. He asked who and where he should call concerning this. I suggested Mr Henry Parker as he was the only name I could think of that had anything to do with public services. We looked up his home phone number, the vet made the call, and within 30 minutes Old Glory was waving in all her majesty. This is how you get things done, pick up the phone and call the people responsible. And every public official should have at the very least a pager number listed in the local government phone listings. This is being a responsible citizen and ensuring your tax dollars are being utilized wisely. Otherwise, you get what you have now, spread all across the region, a bunch of good old boys that are willing to sit on their butts because no one is willing to make sure they are doing their job!

Anonymous said...

Don't know if you all have noticed, the economy has taken a nosedive. Airlines and airports are struggling, probably have been since 9/11. Also, take a look at the county budget or ask a county council member to find out how much taxpayer money is used to operate the airport. NONE! It's so easy to sit back, look at pictures of weeds and a deteriorating building and assume that the person in charge is rolling around in your money laughing.. but, really - do you have all the facts? If Bob Bryant is rolling around in the money, it's his wife's money. Airports have to follow FAA rules and when there is limited funding, I'll take a safe runway over landscaping. Salisbury would look a hell of lot worse if an airplane overshot the runway because the lights were burned out than it does because there's no petunias growing along the sidewalk.

smitty240 said...

That's great, except for one thing.My taxes haven't gone down, and I seriously doubt that your's have either, so the funds are still there.

Who ever is sucking on the crack pipe thinking SBY will get RJ service needs to get in touch with reality. Ever since service was pulled from BWI, I would venture to say enplanements out of SBY have NOT kept up with figures from other airports, proportionately.

Just out of curiosity, how much is tee hangar rental at SBY these days? How much revenue was lost when Chesapeake Airways was closed up? Did they pay ground rent to the county? SBY has been mismanaged for so long, people don't even remember how it used to be. And how much money was pi$$ed away for a control tower? There's a real effective use of tax dollars. And how much was spent by the county for infrastructure improvements across from the "fire station" on taxiway "C"?

You know, just because the federal government throws a bit of slop in the trough doesn't mean the pigs have to dine on caviar. Besides, that slop is composed of tax dollars as well.