Suffering from silos
By Jared Yoshiki
Airport communities across the country can sometimes become isolated ecosystems, with limited interaction with other airports. This can create an “airport silo,” making regional and local advocacy difficult by restricting the visibility of other communities’ struggles.
When airport communities face hardships with their state or local elected officials, they may feel isolated with no one to turn to except their AOPA regional manager and their siloed group of supporters. While having a small group of advocates may sometimes work and achieve success, imagine the possibilities if this group extended beyond the airport fence, beyond the city and county limits.
For example, Fly Friendly SoCal is a group of airport users in Southern California who have banded together to form a coalition of pilots from Long Beach, Torrance, El Monte, and San Diego. Their primary goal is to make pilots aware of local airport noise abatement procedures, but they may have also planted the seed of making a larger impact by providing support for each other on other important matters.
If you believe your airport community is in an airport silo, venture out to your nearest airport or reach out to your AOPA regional manager, who can connect you with an AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer near you. While silos may be great for containing large amounts of grain, we need pro-airport advocacy to spread far and wide.
