After nearly a year of teases about potential new carriers, Tallahassee International Airport is in line for a cash infusion to woo airlines to Florida’s capital city.
In a May 2025 interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, TLH Airport Director David Pollard said the airport was “very close” to landing additional airline providers. The pronouncement came just before officials with the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board were slated to approve a $10 million incentive package.
“If we get this tool in the toolbox related to our incentive program, I would say we’re very close to landing an additional carrier or two,” said Pollard, when asked at the time about the airport’s progress for securing additional carriers.
About nine months later, Pollard told the Democrat that is “absolutely still the case.”
“With these additional tools and the ability for our airport and our community to be positioned to offer the airport-based and community-based incentives, it’s much more attractive in today’s airline and air service development process,” said Pollard, who said the airport could be making an announcement in “the not too distant future.”
When pressed about whether that announcement would come this year, Pollard said, “Ideally.”
What’s next with the $10 million incentive package?
Now, at Wednesday City Commission meeting, commissioners will decide whether to formalize a process for the incentive package as a recruitment tool. The total cost for the airport incentives would be $10 million over the life of the program, which is 15 years.
The measure is the latest move by local officials to drum up more interest by potential carriers to the capital city, which has struggled to retain new services when introduced to the market.
In October 2024, JetBlue Airlines pulled out of the market due to underperformance of its sole flight to Fort Lauderdale. A year later, Silver Airways, a regional carrier, filed for bankruptcy and stopped operations in June.
That leaves only four routes from American Airlines and a single route from Delta to serve the capital of the third most populous state in the United States.
Where is the money coming from?
The incentive money comes from sales taxes in the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency’s 2026 operating budget and a five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which includes money designated for economic development efforts.
The proposed process also includes terms for a “Minimum Revenue Guarantees (MRGs),” which guarantees an airline a minimum revenue amount for qualifying new service or seasonal service, city documents said.
“If the actual revenue falls short, the MRG fund covers the difference, up to the predetermined cap. This support helps mitigate early-stage financial uncertainty with the goal of creating long-term, self-sustaining air service that encourages airlines to enter markets they might otherwise overlook.”
The city wouldn’t be obligated to pay anything if the route meets or exceeds expectations. Documents also go on to say this isn’t considered a subsidy but rather a “an effective, highly regulated risk-mitigation tool that has become an expected incentive in the airline industry.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TLH airport director says $10 million in airline incentives will pay off soon
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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