Prior to 1975, the airport was Naval Air Station Glynco. In August 1942, the U.S. Navy began building the air station on in the northern part of the county. Named NAS Glynco as an abbreviation of Glynn County, it was launched as an operational base for lighter-than-air airships, more commonly known as blimps. In 1973, Delta Air Lines was operating mainline service from NAS Glynco with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jetliners on direct flights to Atlanta and Orlando as well as nonstop flights to Augusta, Jacksonville and Macon. According to the Delta March 1, 1973 timetable, the airline was operating a daily southbound DC-9-30 flight on a routing of Chicago O'Hare Airport - Cincinnati - Atlanta - Savannah - Brunswick - Jacksonville - Orlando at this time. However, by the fall of 1974 Delta was no longer operating mainline jet service from the airport. Delta finally returned to Brunswick by the mid 1980s when Delta Connection air carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines began operating code sharing flights on behalf of Delta with small Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante and Short 360 commuter turboprops nonstop from Atlanta. Prior to beginning flights from Naval Air Station Glynco, Delta served Brunswick via the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport from the mid 1940s through the 1960s with piston-powered propeller aircraft. As TRAWING 8 was decommissioned and VT-86 transferred to Training Air Wing SIX at NAS Pensacola, Florida, the Glynn County community hastily took control of its destiny when a group of 19 community leaders formed the Glynco Steering Committee to attract new users to the facility. Their hard work paid off in 1975 when the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center selected the former Glynco site for a consolidated training academy for federal law enforcement personnel. FLETC constructed their facility on the former blimp facility, while the community retained the airfield proper and its runway, which was designated the official county municipal airport in 1975. Both developments proved to be invaluable to the future of Brunswick and the Golden Isles. Contributions to the local economy and population of Glynn County by the FLETC have exceeded even the Navy's considerable impact, and the jet runway has been an important community asset. Golden Isles Airshow on 24 March 2017 The Glynn County Airport Commission was established in 1980 to manage and develop new opportunities for both the Brunswick and St. Simons Island airports. Since that time, the Airport Commission has continued to improve service and facilities through a series of important upgrades and repairs. To more accurately reflect the destination for travelers and pilots, the Glynco Jetport was renamed Brunswick Golden Isles Airport in 2003. The elegant new passenger terminal, completed in 2005, reflects the local tradition of hospitality and welcome for passengers of scheduled carrier service. The airport has been host to many airshows in the past the most recent was Wings over the Golden Isles on 24-26 March 2017.
Facilities and aircraft
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 26 feet above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 7/25 with an asphalt and concrete surface. For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 28,160 aircraft operations, an average of 77 per day: 74% general aviation, 11% air taxi, 9% scheduled commercial and 7% military. At that time there were 63 aircraft based at this airport: 87% single-engine, 11% multi-engine and 2% helicopter.
