EDITORIAL: Airport isn't just a flight of fancy

Allegiant Air's first flights to and from Gary/Chicago International Airport made Wednesday a day for celebration and today a day for reflection on how to keep those flights coming and going.

The airport has seen low-cost airlines come and go since Pan American Airlines began using the airport in 1999. The last was Skybus, which stopped flying less than a month after it began operations in Gary in March 2008.

This time, Gary/Chicago International Airport has an airline with staying power. Unlike the other airlines that have used the Gary airport, Allegiant has been profitable for 36 straight quarters.

"This is the first real legitimate airline this airport has ever had," Gary Jet Center owner Wil Davis said. "All the others were either start-ups or someone's fantasy. This is the real deal."

Now it's up to the customers to make sure the airline has plenty of reasons to continue operating its existing service. The first flight, to Orlando, Fla., was sold out. Passengers have flocked to Gary/Chicago International Airport in the past, enjoying the easy access, the convenient parking and the small terminal. There's every reason to expect that will continue, although airport officials and boosters, along with Allegiant, now need to promote the airport to ensure the passengers keep coming.

The Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority also must make sure the runway expansion project moves swiftly and flawlessly so the Federal Aviation Administration deadline can be met and so other airlines will see evidence of the commitment to make the airport suitable for all comers.

And it's up to airport officials to make sure that message spreads throughout the industry, so additional airlines will find the airport attractive for their needs. That's the point of the airport expansion, after all.

The Gary Jet Center is doing well, a sign of the airport's popularity for private air traffic. But the FAA wants, as we do, to see passenger airlines offer regularly scheduled service as well.

Having Allegiant operate out of the Gary airport is a triumph, but the ultimate sign of success will be having a number of airlines use the airport. That's when we'll know that Gary/Chicago International Airport has become the economic engine the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and so many others know it can become.