By Debby Woodin

dwoodin@joplinglobe.com

Joplin’s newest addition to its economic development picture is still on track to get down to business the first of the week.

Members of the business community got a peek Friday at the Joplin Regional Airport’s new terminal during a First Friday coffee held there for members of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. Other residents will get a chance to see the building, 7331 N. Highway 43, during an open house from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony at 2 p.m.

Flights are scheduled to start Monday from the new terminal by Joplin’s new passenger carrier, Great Lakes Airlines.

Mayor Gary Shaw said the new building is larger than he envisioned from the blueprints and will be vital to Joplin’s future development.

“It is going to move us on into the next century, and it is going to serve a lot of people,” the mayor said. He commended the work of the airport manager, Steve Stockam, and the airport advisory board in overseeing the plans for the building.

Alden Buerge, chairman and CEO of First State Bank, is a former member and chairman of the airport advisory board who helped work on the plans. He said he derives a sense of accomplishment from the construction of the $15 million terminal.

“This is a beautiful new facility, and it’s the front door that many people will see now when they fly into Joplin,” Buerge said. “It’s a front door that represents not only our city, but our area very, very well. It’s exciting to have a new airline there on Monday and I understand they already have 400 passengers booked for the first month to Kansas City.”

A spokeswoman for Great Lakes, Monica Taylor, could not be reached Friday to confirm the number of advance ticket bookings, but she had said last week that the airline was getting “quite a few” advance ticket sales. Great Lakes is providing flights to Kansas City where passengers can connect with flights to other destinations with a subsidy provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Tickets for flights are about $69 each way to and from Kansas City.

Buerge said Joplin needed a new terminal to replace one built in 1948 for several reasons.

“Safety is a huge part of it,” he said. “The regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration have made the old terminal obsolete and outdated. And, it was out of compliance with Homeland Security, as well as the FAA regulations,” Buerge said.

He also said that the terminal and passenger flight service is vital to the city’s future development.

“A lot of companies won’t even consider locating in a city that doesn’t have commercial air service,” Buerge said. “We have a new, modern facility that people of this area can be very proud of.”

The airport also is the site of a new air traffic control tower built by contract with the FAA that cost $3.5 million. All of that cost, along with 90 percent of the costs of the new terminal, were paid by federal grants.