Airport looks to grow along with the city of Olive Branch

Gina Butkovich, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·3 min read
The view from the cockpit of a Cessna model 172 over Olive Branch, Miss. on a lesson from Air Venture Flight Center on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
The view from the cockpit of a Cessna model 172 over Olive Branch, Miss. on a lesson from Air Venture Flight Center on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

The Olive Branch Airport is looking to get bigger, reflecting the ongoing growth in Olive Branch.

The airport, which is about a 30-minute drive from downtown Memphis, acts as a relief airport for the Memphis area and currently has 60 aircraft hangers.

"I have a waiting list of 90 people for new hangers," Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams said. "And if they knew I had a waiting list, I'd have another 90, of pilots who would like to fly out of Olive Branch."

Adams said that the city is currently working with the Mississippi Legislature to receive some federal funding to grow the airport. Expanding the airport, Adams said, goes hand in hand with the growth the city is seeing.

"Not necessarily with flying components and widgets and boxes out like cargo, but it ties into corporate staff and executives coming in and out to view their businesses and flying from one warehouse location to another, that all ties together," Adams said.

The Voyant Beauty sign near its factory in Olive Branch.
The Voyant Beauty sign near its factory in Olive Branch.

The growth has already started, with two large developments coming to Olive Branch in the past four months. In October, Voyant Beauty announced it would be expanding in Olive Branch and Walmart last week announced plans to build a fulfillment center. Combined, these two investments will bring more than 300 new jobs to the area.

"We are truly a pivot point for logistics," Adams said about why companies are attracted to the area. "Olive Branch is positioned 15 minutes from FedEx's global hub, their air hub, and we're within 15 minutes of five railroads, and probably 15 minutes, I may be off a few minutes, of UPS's air hub as well and the Memphis International airport. So we're really in the center of a transportation hub and spoke, so to speak."

The view from the cockpit of a Cessna model 172 over Olive Branch, Miss. on a lesson from Air Venture Flight Center on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
The view from the cockpit of a Cessna model 172 over Olive Branch, Miss. on a lesson from Air Venture Flight Center on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

The growth in Olive Branch, and DeSoto as a whole, has sparked community debate and concern over the area becoming too urban. Adams, who has lived in the same home in Olive Branch for the last 39 years, believes the town is managing to keep a small-town feel while still expanding.

"What I think we do well, and I'm very sincere, we do our best to host local events that give us a continued community feeling," Adams said. "Such as showing movies at our Wesson house, which is the house that the first mayor of Olive Branch occupied, we show movies on the lawn. We have our Christmas parade during Christmas time, we have our parks and recreation programs."

Adams also points to the opportunity this growth offers residents, opportunity they might not be able to get in strictly rural areas.

"I know a lot of people in rural cities that would kill for the opportunities we have," Adams said. "They would put up with the traffic, they would put up with the tractor trailers and those kinds of things to have the opportunities that we actually have in Olive Branch due to the growth and potential growth we have."

Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The Olive Branch airport is looking to grow larger along with the city