The Jackson airport board recently authorized tour expenses for all five commissioners and five staff to take a 12-day business experience to the International Air Show in Paris.
Billed as an economic improvement opportunity, the experience was unanimously authorized by the five Jackson Mississippi Airport Authority commissioners at a March 25 board meeting.
For more than a week, JMAA has no longer answered repeated requests for additional records and documentation. Here are five things to know about the ride to Paris:
How much will the bride price be?
The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority’s tour dates encompass five additional days except for the real week of the air show, June 14 to June 25, for a total of 12 days.
Estimated fees for the five staff participants alone are about $27,000, consistent with the assembly minutes, although it is now not documented how much the ride will cost commissioners.
If their costs are comparable, JMAA is asking to spend an envisioned $45,000-$55,000 or more, aside from any journey discounts.
The Clarion-Ledger has filed a public facts request for all tour-related documentation, including the travel itinerary and receipts, for the imminent ride.
Where is the cash coming from to pay for the trip?
The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority is funded through airport sales, most of which come from passenger spending. The airport also receives federal offers for unique tasks from the Federal Aviation Authority.
It isn’t clear what part of JMAA’s price range is being used to fund the experience.
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Are our trips just like the one to Paris commonplace?
JMAA officers have attended the air show in the past, but it is very uncommon for the entire board and further groups of workers individuals to wait.
None of the three surrounding airports contacted by the Clarion-Ledger stated they had comparable tour plans.
Memphis International Airport:
“We haven’t planned to send anyone there this 12 months, and we haven’t inside the beyond,” stated Public Information Officer Glen Thomas.
“If a person goes on a journey of that magnitude, it is usually the board chair,” he said.
Shreveport Regional Airport:
Mark Crawford, the airport’s public family members manager, stated tour charges at the Louisiana airport are typically related to a particular improvement proposal. He mentioned an experience in 2011 with the headquarters of United Airlines to feature flights to Denver.
In that case, one reputable, the airport board’s chairman, went on a business trip.
Gulfport-Biloxi International airport:
A reliable source from the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport stated that no individuals from its governing body are traveling to this year’s air show.
Why are they going?
Records from the March 25 meeting state the experience may be “extraordinarily beneficial” to the authority; however, it does now not say how.
Meeting minutes examine the air display “will provide a unique opportunity for engagement with all of the monetary, political, institutional and technological global aviation enterprise people and entities in an unmarried venue concerning aviation and financial improvement troubles of significance to the JMAA.”
JMAA commissioners touring the show are Lawanda D. Harris and Lee A. Bernard Jr., James Henley Jr., Robert Martin, and Lucius Wright.
The staffers journeying to the show are JMAA’s chief executive officer, chief operating officer, enterprise improvement officer, public relations and customer support manager, and director of capital programming.
The commissioners are nominated by the mayor of Jackson and confirmed with the aid of the City Council and serve a 3-year period.
