Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is an airport four miles southwest of Albany, in Dougherty County, Georgia, in the United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 39,200 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 33,044 in 2009 and 35,494 in 2010. History Albany Airport opened in 1935, about 4 miles southwest of the city. In October 1938 Eastern Air Lines began mail service to the field. Eastern's Eddie Rickenbacker announced that as soon as the City improved the airport, Eastern would start passenger service. The City was doing just that during 1939 and 1940 in the form of a WPA project to enlarge the landing area and build a passenger terminal. In 1940 the United States Army Air Corps was establishing civil pilot training schools at airports in the southeast, with its moderate weather. Albany Airport had been rejected as an advanced training base (Turner Army Airfield was built north of Albany instead), but it was approved for a primary contract school in June. The City agreed to provide $500,000 for further improvements to the landing field, the completion of the passenger terminal, the cost of two new hangars and half the cost of a third hangar. An additional investment of over $400,000 was made by Hal S. Darr, owner of the contract flying school for the construction of the cantonment area and one half the cost of one hangar. Ground was broken in July 1940. The Army Air Corps named the school the 52nd Army Air Force Fight Training Detachment. Thus Darr Aero Tech became the first Army Air Corps activity constructed in Georgia during the buildup to World War II. In addition to the main school at Albany, the following auxiliary airfields were used: Hayley Auxiliary Field Reynolds Auxiliary Field River Auxiliary Field (location undetermined) Turner Auxiliary Field (location undetermined) On August 15, 1940 the first class of 45 cadets began training. The cadets were initially housed in the Georgia Hotel until the barracks reached completion on 20 August. Flight training commenced with 15 PT-13 Stearmans and 11 flight instructors. Seven classes of American cadets were trained until July 1941. On June 8, 1941, the school received the first British RAF cadets under the Arnold Scheme. For the next 14 months, Darr's classes were exclusively British. A conflict existed