Golden Triangle Regional Airport is a public use airport in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The airport is located approximately midway between the cities of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point, Mississippi, and serves the surrounding Golden Triangle region of Mississippi and parts of West Alabama. GTR is used for general and military aviation, and charter aircraft. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 35,669 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 36,275 enplanements in 2009, and 36,329 in 2010. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). It is the third-busiest commercial airport in the state of Mississippi. GTR is the nucleus of a new industrial complex in northeast Mississippi. American Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters), a subsidiary of EADS North America, moved into an helicopter production plant built by the airport and leased to the company on airport property in 2004. In 2007, American Eurocopter finished the second phase of the project, a facility built primarily to manufacture and assemble the new U.S. Army UH-72A Lakota light utility twin engine helicopter. Severstal North America opened a steel mini-mill in an adjacent site in October 2007 and immediately began construction on phase II, bringing total investment in the plant to $1.8 billion. Paccar, parent company of Peterbilt, Kenworth and DAF (Dutch) trucks has operated a truck engine manufacturing facility since late 2010 that is located to the north of the airport. Other industry, many with international roots, continues to locate at the industrial park adjacent to the airport. The area has two "Megasites" adjacent to the airport that were certified under the Tennessee Valley Authority's Certified Megasite program. In addition, two aerospace companies, Aurora Flight Sciences and Stark Aerospace, built facilities on airport property and primarily manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles. Stark Aerospace is the newly formed subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries. History Plans to build the airport at a cost of $2.2 million dollars were announced by Senator John C. Stennis in August 1966. In December of the same year, the three local cities approved bond issues to pay $1,285,000 for the airport, with the remaining 45% of the project to be paid for by the Federal government. The airport opened in 1971. Facilities and aircraft Golden Triangle Regional Airport covers an area of 1,000 acres (405 ha) at an elevation