Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport continues to grow after 50 years

For 50 years, the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport has been providing flights to and from the Pine Belt with plans to continue building on its success in the decades to come.

A 50th anniversary celebration was held Tuesday at the airport to commemorate the occasion.

The Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Authority was formed in 1967 to establish an airport that would serve both Forrest and Jones counties and the cities of Hattiesburg and Laurel. The first flights at what was then the Pine Belt Regional Airport began July 1, 1974. The airport was renamed in 1990.

"Air travel back then was kind of like a bus line," said Tom Heanue, who has been the airport's executive director for nearly half of the airport's existence. "It was a smaller aircraft that traveled like a bus. It stopped in Meridian. It stopped in Laurel. It stopped in Hattiesburg."

Foreseeing major growth in the area, local officials decided it was time to create a regional airport for a single hub of air transportation, Heanue said.

"I really commend those individuals who had that vision to start this airport," said Jack Day, airport authority board vice chairman.

Today, the airport offers daily nonstop flights to Houston on SkyWest-United.

"This airport is a testament that when we partner with our sister communities on a vision bigger than our individual parts, we can truly achieve greatness," Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker said.

The Hattiesburg-Laurel airport serves a 10-county region and is a business hub for much of the Southeast.

In addition to the airport, the facility is home to the I-59 Supply Chain Park, with several businesses located there, including FedEx, NoTrax Manufacturing, Ashley Furniture, Clearview Recovery Center and Flowers Foods/Bunny Bread.

"We're not growing pine trees out here," Heanue said. "We're growing jobs."

The airport is located 10 miles from Hattiesburg and 23 miles from Laurel. It also provides commercial, charter and private aviation services in addition to the daily flights.

Plans are in the works to replace the runway lighting after receiving a more than $1 million infrastructure grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The flight operations area covers 800 acres and the industrial park sits on 750 acres in Jones County.

For more information, visit flypib.com.

Do you have memories tied to the airport? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport's 50th anniversary