The first new airport to open in the U-S since September 11, 2001 will begin takeoff in May 2010 near Panama City.

But how will this impact the Tallahassee Regional Airport?

The Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport will have Southwest Airlines as one of its carriers.

Many passengers who we spoke with were excited about it, not only because of Southwest, but because Panama City would open up travel options that Tallahassee simply cannot provide. And some say if many people choose to fly out of Panama City instead Tallahassee, that could hurt business in the capital city's airport.

A flight has just ended and the hustling has begun.

Angel Clark often hustles across the country on business, and in the Tallahassee area, she doesn't think twice about skipping town to fly out of Jacksonville.

Business Traveler Angel Clark says she travels to Jacksonville to fly to: "take the Southwest flight, because it's a little cheaper than flying out of Tallahassee."

But come May, she'll have another option- The Northwest Florida Panama City International Airport will open for business and Southwest airlines will be a carrier.

"I think that travelers that drive 2 and a half to three hours to Jacksonville will head that direction if it's any bit shorter," Clark says.

And it will be. The drive to Panama City's new airport is 129 miles compared to 172 miles to Jacksonville.

But a state representative is not thrilled.

Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel-Vasilinda (D) Tallahassee says, "I think the fourth largest state in the union ought to have a capital city that's accessible not only to it's citizens from all over the state but we also need to make sure we're getting people into the state capitol for economic development reasons."

An official at Tallahassee Regional Airport says the airport primarily caters to business travelers while Panama City will cater to tourists.

But some are sold on Panama City.

"There would be no reason for me to come to Tallahassee," says one traveler.

But maybe Tallahassee has other enticements.

"Well the mall. The mall here in town would be the reason for me to come here," says another traveler.

The airport official went on to tell me that the new Panama City airport could actually IMPROVE the economy in the Tallahassee region.

He told me in the long term future, if more tourists pour into Panama City through the airport, the stimulated economy could spill over to the Big Bend region.

In the last session, Representative Rehwinkel Vasilinda fought for a bill that proposed eliminating an aviation fuel tax to entice more carriers to come here. That died, but she plans to file it again this next session.