The first person to disembark from the first American Airlines flight to land at McClellan-Palomar Airport on Thursday was Shupei Chiao.
He called the experience "amazing."
“All the airport workers were out waiting for the plane to come in," Chiao said. "There was a fire truck there. They gave us a water cannon salute. And obviously dozens of people in the terminal waiting for us to come in as well, too. So all of it was really exciting.”
Chiao lives in Carlsbad, about five minutes from the airport, but he also has another home in Phoenix, Arizona. He flies back and forth weekly.
"The convenience of flying straight into North County is amazing," Chiao said, noting that now he doesn't have to drive up to an hour to fly out of San Diego International Airport in downtown San Diego.
Jamie Abbott, San Diego County’s director of airport operations, said this is all about connectivity. American Airlines now flies two outbound and two return flights to and from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. Abbott said the airline's return will also boost economic activities.
“American Airlines alone have brought in a crew of over 20 people," he said. "The county has brought on additional crews and contractors. The restaurant here at the airport, of course, is going to see increased business. So it's really a trickle effect and a domino effect for the rest of the region.”
The last time American flew out of Palomar Airport was in 1997. And the last commercial flight out of Palomar ended 11 years ago.
Matt West, the owner of the Landings Restaurant & Bar in the airport, has been waiting for years for commercial flights to return.
“It’s great for us. Especially when you look at the times that the flights come and go. It actually helps us in our slower times of the day," he said. "This morning were pretty much completely full for us.”
West plans to hire more staff and extend opening hours in anticipation of increased demand.
The inaugural flight to Phoenix also attracted self-proclaimed aviation geeks, such as Brandon Rabbit.
“I think it's a big thing. It's important to see the airports flourish," he said. "It shows a demand. And I think it'll help the city of Carlsbad bring in new revenue and business opportunity.”
Rabbitt drove down from Orange County to be among the first to fly out of Palomar on the first day of service for American Airlines.
But not all see this as a benefit for the community. A group of residents sued the county to stop commercial flights from returning.
Citizens for a Friendly Airport claimed in its suit filed last month that the county failed to assess the environmental impacts of commercial flights returning under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The county declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation, but Abbott said the airport has done its due diligence to be good neighbors.
"We're always looking for ways to increase how we can better handle noise and noise reporting, and really listen to the concerns of the community," he said. "We think it's a responsibility of ours to do what we can to be good neighbors to the community. And we're continually improving that process."
