JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Testimony in the first week of the trial over control of Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport showed that financial concerns the state cited in a memo 11 years ago never materialized into financial support for the facility.
Former Gov. Phil Bryant’s chief of staff, Joey Songy, testified that Bryant never tried to secure money for the airport from 2013 to 2016. The airport board’s CEO, Rosa Beckett, told the court that the pattern has continued in recent years, with one exception.
Veto and funding
Lawmakers appropriated $500,000 as a local match grant in 2026 to help the airport secure millions in federal dollars. Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed that item, saying the airport wasted millions on attorney fees related to this case and he did not want to provide funding.
Songy also testified that he pitched the idea of airport “restructuring” to several stakeholders but acknowledged he did not seek input from the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, the city of Jackson or Jackson’s legislative delegation.
Airport’s financial structure
Beckett told the court that federal grants are critically important because the airport is required to be self-sustaining and cannot direct any of its revenues to the city or other entities…