Reid-Hillview Airport provides many jobs of a wide variety within the aviation industry, to individuals in the Bay Area. Some of these jobs include air traffic controllers, aircraft mechanics, flight instructors, and many more. These employment opportunities provide employees with useful insight, experiences, and skills that can be applied to future, sustainable jobs in the industry.

 

Positions in aviation are in high demand and will likely stay that way for a long time. This is because aircraft is highly efficient in many aspects of everyday life from emergency situations, like large-scale fires, to tourism, like flying passengers across the globe (‘Future of Aviation'). According to Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders, there are approximately 11.3 million jobs in the industry in direct positions (such as flight attendants, civil aerospace engineers, etc.) and another 18.1 million in indirect positions (such as fuel suppliers, construction companies, etc.). This does not include the millions of jobs created through tourism, which is supported through commercial airlines, or the jobs created by aviation employees’ ability to consume goods with their income. 

 

Not only does the aviation industry create a countless number of jobs and support economic growth, but the average salaries for aviation-related jobs are above the average annual wage and salary in the United States. In 2019, the average salary in the U.S. was close to $52,000 per year. According to ATP Flight School, the largest flight training company in the U.S.,  the compiled salaries of pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers in 2021 was a little under $187,000. Air traffic controllers are estimated to make a base salary of about $93,000 per ear and aircraft mechanics can make between $68,000 and $112,000 (‘Average Air Traffic Controller Salary’). Though at a smaller airport like Reid Hillview, these salaries cannot be expected, the knowledge and expertise that you gain will open up opportunities for higher-paying aviation-related jobs at other airports. 

 

Closing down the airport would jeopardize these employment opportunities and force the four flight schools on-site to relocate or close down. This would result in a loss of jobs at the airport (for all current and future employees)  and losing businesses that provide flight training to aspiring pilots. With the great economic value and benefits that airports bring, closing Reid Hillview would be a great shame.