2020
Annual Report
SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION
A Word From Our Director
We got through it. That about sums up 2020 for the airport. Looking back over the course of the year, we were very fortunate as an organization and as a public transportation operation to have avoided any significant outbreaks or disruptions beyond the travel slowdown. The efforts and discipline displayed by our employees and the employees of all businesses and corporations at the airport helped us maintain operations at an acceptable level.
While passenger counts dropped as low as 70-80% compared to 2019 and revenue dropped 60%, there were a few bright spots around the airport that did not see much of a drop-off and, in some cases, business actually increased. Air cargo, fixed base operations, aircraft manufacturing and several military operations are included in that category.
As with most airports, we cut spending, froze most capital projects and prepared for the worst. Facing our first financial loss in decades, we worked closely with our airport trade groups, AAAE and ACI-NA to lobby for relief funding from the federal government. This effort paid off, and we received $27M in CARES Act funding. This lifeline helped us break-even for the year and helped us provide downstream financial assistance by way of rent relief for our tenants. This helped greatly across the entire airport ecosystem.
While our passenger counts for 2020 were the lowest we have seen since the mid-1980s, we did end the year with a relatively strong finish which gave us optimism moving into the new year. That optimism has finally proven to be correct, and we are now looking at a strong year in 2021. In closing, I want to say a special thanks to all of our airport employees for sticking with us and helping us get through this national and global crisis.
GREGORY B. KELLY, A.A.E.
Executive Director
STEPHEN S. GREEN
Chairman
A Word From Our Chairman
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
This quote from Henry Ford reflects our experience and the countless challenges that confronted the airport during a COVID-dominated 2020. With air travel in free-fall during April and May, there was little reason for optimism. Everything was working against us and the entire aviation industry.
The Commission met with our executive director and senior staff to take stock of where we were and where we might be headed. We developed a strategy to navigate these uncharted waters (airways).
With a clear focus, first and foremost on safety and infection prevention for our employees, stakeholders, and the flying public, we also instituted a plan of fiscal restraint, operational conformity, and air service retention. We worked our way through the crisis and ended the year on a positive note. It was gratifying to see people again taking to the air in meaningful numbers throughout the holiday season.
For months, the terminal felt like a ghost town, but it came back to life to round out the year. Now, as we look forward to full recovery, we turn our sights back to our capital expansion plans which were put on hold due to the unknown.
On behalf of the Commission, I want to compliment and thank the entire airport staff and volunteers that did such an extraordinary job of maintaining our high standards of operation, efficiency and customer service while also instituting COVID safety protocols. This was an extraordinary team effort, and the Commission is honored to be able to thank them publicly.
We are again pointed back “against the wind” as we prepare for our full recovery to take off.
Introduction
Strength in
2020 was marked by many challenges, and despite the pandemic, we’re proud of the progress that Savannah/Hilton Head International made last year. We began the year strong and with a clear game plan for another record-breaking year. The aviation industry was more robust than it had been for decades. Then, we were met with the most significant and rapid decline that our industry has ever faced: a pandemic that changed the entire world.
As is the case with so many other industry partners, our strategy was suddenly altered by fate. We shifted our focus to meet the needs of our employees and to serve the public in ways that we have never been asked to serve. In our mission-critical industry, our employees have served on the front lines from the beginning to the end. Through it all, our airfield remained open and ready to meet the needs of our region. They did all of this with fewer hands, a much leaner budget and a hardened resolve.
Together with our aviation partners, the SAV team powered through and kept the airport and airfield open to keep commercial, general aviation and military airport operations running seamlessly and unhindered by the global pandemic. We have emerged stronger from 2020 with renewed purpose.
Passenger Statistics
Total Cargo
Aircraft Operations
Airport
Revenue
2020 Total Operating
Revenue:
SECTION 3. YEAR IN REVIEW
2020 Year in Review
- Quarter 1
- Quarter 2
- Quarter 3
- Quarter 4
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI)
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
DEC
SECTION 4. AIR SERVICE
Air Service Announcements
Southwest Airlines announces service coming to Savannah/Hilton Head International in 2021
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI)
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Allegiant announces new nonstop service to:
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
Airlines & Nonstop Destinations
27 Non-Stop Destinations
*SEASONAL SERVICE
**as of December 2020
SECTION 5. AWARDS & INITIATIVES
Green Initiatives
Davidson Drive Resurfacing
12,395 SQ. YARDS (PER BID SCHEDULE) OF ASPHALTIC CONCRETE MILLED
Bring One for the Chipper
513 TREES RECYCLED
Southern Metal Recycling
40,260 LBS.
7,000 LBS.
Coastal Refinery
5,519 GALS
Pratt Recycling
54 BALES
Terracycle Regulated Waste LLC
3 DRUMS
504 LBS.
758 LBS.
City of Savannah
16.92 TONS
6.07 TONS
Awards &
Accolades
SECTION 6. COMMISSION, STAFF & FINANCIALS
Commission & Staff
SAVANNAH AIRPORT COMMISSION MEMBERS
RANDY HOUSTON
Member
MR. LOWELL KRONOWITZ
Member
MRS. SHIRLEY B. JAMES
Vice-Chairman
MR. STEPHEN S. GREEN
Chairman
MR. TED KLEISNER
Member
SAVANNAH AIRPORT COMMISSION SENIOR STAFF
GREGORY B. KELLY, A.A.E.
Executive Director
GEORGE A. FIDLER, JR., P.E.
Director of Engineering
LENARD ROBINSON, A.A.E.
Director of Landside Facilities
DAWOUD STEVENSON, C.M.
Director of Program Management, Information Technology
LORI LYNAH
Director of Marketing and Air Service Development
JOEL BURGESS, C.M.
Director of Operations
Financial Statements
Provided through the link below are the financial statements of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport for the year ending December 31, 2020. These financial statements are provided by management and are for information only. They have not been audited.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE BEING PROVIDED:
• Statements of Net Position
• Statements of Revenues, Expenses & Changes in Net Position
Questions concerning the financial statements and any other information provided should be directed to:
Gregory B. Kelly, A.A.E. Executive Director
Savannah Airport Commission
400 Airways Avenue · Savannah, GA 31408 · (912) 964-0514 · flySAV.com