‘The Welcome Mat to Eastern Kentucky’

How one airport is shaping the local flying experience while offering a friendly greeting for every passenger

 

Tucked in the serene beauty of Eastern Kentucky just ten miles northeast of Prestonsburg, within Martin County, lies Big Sandy Regional Airport, a thriving and dynamic public-use airport.

Gary W. Cox, the airport’s Aviation Manager, is at the helm of the airport operations. With a focus on what is to come for the airport and ensuring unparalleled customer service, Cox is determined to offer its passengers everything they need when they touch down.

“I have been a pilot for 22 years,” Cox begins. “I have also been running the airport for 24 years and my favorite thing about running the airport is the people you meet.”

While these words aptly describe the love and dedication that Cox has for Big Sandy Regional Airport, they also hold an extra special significance. At the heart of Cox’s aviation business model is the firm belief that it is the people that fly in that bring the airport such vitality and these people are always given a friendly and personalized landing every time by Cox and his team.

“Literally because of a restaurant on the field, we get a lot of people coming from Florida, the Michigan area, and then people traveling north and people traveling south who stop here,” Cox describes.

“They can get fuel, a meal, and then head on their way. We get a lot of transient business which provides the opportunity to meet people from all over the county and that is the most satisfying part of my job,” he adds.

Although old enough to retire and enjoy the simple life, Cox admits that he would miss the airport too much and this is the reason that he remains committed to its continued growth and success while always offering a first-in-class passenger service for anyone walking through the terminal doors.

“I could have retired five years ago if I wanted to, but I enjoy the airport, and it is just such a wonderful way to meet people.”

Emphasizing that aviation is very much a people’s business, Cox equates the aviation community to those that one would find in a lakeside community.

“Aviation is just like the people you meet on the lake. You rarely ever meet a person you don’t like in aviation. I have been here 24 years and I have only had to have words with one person,” he elaborates.

Tourism taking off

Established in the early eighties as an airport to serve the local coal industry, Big Sandy Regional Airport has shifted gears over the ensuing decades to transition into a thriving general aviation airport with the occasional cargo flight landing on its tarmac.

“I am a privately run fixed-based operator, Cox Aviation. I run the FBO here at the airport, all fixed-based operations, and we also run Side by Side Tours in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky which include elk viewing,” Cox states.

The airport authority that owns Big Sandy Regional Airport oversees four local counties, while the airport sits in Martin County. Cox notes that the airport sees a mix of commercial, private, and recreational GA traffic coming in and out.

“Everyone doing business in these four counties uses our airport, lands here, and visits their companies. We have recreational traffic as well.”

The airport offers a single runway that is slightly over 5,000 feet in length and sits on an area that encompasses 136 acres at an elevation of 1,221 feet.

Managing an airport that sees regular general aviation traffic through its doors, Cox is encouraged to see numbers track upwards to reach pre-pandemic numbers. He continues to offer a “full service” experience including fueling services that are rare today as the aviation sector is shifting away from providing these unique options for travelers and has opted often for self-serve fueling.

“Last year was a very busy year. We had a substantial increase in traffic last year over the COVID-19 years.”

While the days of coal industry-related aviation traffic are long gone, tourism has taken center stage for Big Sandy Regional Airport, Cox highlights.

“We have a new business here at the airport called Airport Cottages. There are two Air B&Bs now at the airport just outside the fence of the airport,” Cox notes.

“So you can go on a Side By Side tour, rent a cottage, spend time eating at our airport restaurant, Cloud 9, and fly back the next day. This is fantastic.”

There is plenty to see while touring the beautiful area the airport serves, including viewing a 2000-acre solar farm, and several reclaimed areas that once housed coal mining facilities. In addition, Cox also draws attention to a spectacular new golf course, Stone Crest, that is near completion within a short drive from the airport grounds.

“It’s a mountain top golf course that sits on a reclaimed surface mine about two [mountain] ridges from the airport,” Cox relays.

“A guy that moved here from Washington, DC redid this golf course and it is absolutely gorgeous. He is now finishing up these final touches on it.”

Future plans for this tourist draw include the development of cottages on the golf course for people to “stay and play.”

Cox also points out that First Frontier has opened a trail system in Eastern Kentucky that has provided the perfect route to explore the splendor of the local Kentucky mountains.

To add to the tourist draw, Cox also points to the towns in the county that are tourist highlights in their own right.

“In Prestonsburg, we have what is called the Mountain Arts Center which is a nice venue for country and western stars.”

Then there is Route 23, nicknamed the Country Music Highway.

“Every county that the route passes through has a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame which is located in the town of Paintsville, in Johnson County, that is also part of Big Sandy.”

“So we have a lot of tourism things going on here now that the coal industry is gone and this is what we are trying to base our economy on,” Cox summarizes.

Business growth is taking off

While aviation numbers head northward, Cox is also paying close attention to the business potential on the airport grounds.

“We already have a painting facility, Thoroughbred Aviation, here at the airport that paints helicopters and airplanes.”

“The Diesel Brothers bought an army Black Hawk helicopter and had it painted here at their facility,” he elaborates.

“Over the last eight or nine years this has just exploded. It takes some money to buy a Black Hawk helicopter and to operate a Black Hawk helicopter but we are having a second one painted out there right at the painting facility,” he says.

Cox relays that he is also open to any business to set up shop at the airport that could “produce jobs in Eastern Kentucky.”

“We fully support it.”

Airport Infrastructure is taking off ahead

Having upgraded the majority of the items on its masterplan infrastructure list, Cox notes that the airport is in very good shape for the next decade or so.

Work was carried out roughly three years ago on a new taxi lane and general runway rehabilitation which has positioned the airport where Cox would like it to be.

“The construction firm did a great job carrying out the construction, the runway overlay, and safety overruns that were finished here.”

“We are in the process of seeking money to have the lighting system upgraded to LED here at the airport. We have not gotten approval from the FAA, but we are in the process of requesting that.”

Beyond looking to ideally add an additional corporate hangar and a backup generator in case of catastrophic weather, “the infrastructure is in very good shape right now, overall,” he determines.

As to the future of Big Sandy Regional Airport, Cox points once again to its continued focus on providing a full-service, friendly, and personalized airport greeting for its valued customers.

“I have brochures, for example, that I hand out to people about the cottages.”

“I have got the only job in America where people literally drop out of the sky and give you money. What is not to love about my job,” he concludes.

Customers would have to agree with Cox as they continue to experience firsthand a friendly airport that prioritizes the flying public with a smile.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Big Sandy Regional Airport
What: Eastern Kentucky’s dynamic General Aviation Airport puts the customer experience first while promoting tourism in the area
Where: Martin County, near Prestonsburg in Eastern Kentucky