The airport is all about making connections.

That’s long been recognized by a succession of elected officials, the people who run it, and most importantly those who use it. Simply put, the airport will be used if you can get to the place you want at a price you are willing to pay and when you want to go.

But, as we have been reminded, if not experienced, the airport is both an economic engine and a sometimes-bothersome neighbor. The economic impact of T. F. Green Airport is projected at more than $1 billion on the state. Warwick would not have the hotels, car rental agencies and delivery agencies that all add up to a lot of jobs if it weren’t for the airport. Similarly, without the airport, entire neighborhoods would continue to exist and life would be much quieter for many homeowners.

In these economic times, the emphasis has been on jobs, and that clearly is the objective of Iftikar Ahmad, who assumes the job of president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation next week. Ahmad comes to Rhode Island from the New Orleans Airport, where he played a role in increasing passenger traffic by 42 percent over six years. Traffic at New Orleans was 10.7 million passengers in 2015.

By comparison, traffic at Green is projected to be about four million this year, still almost two million short of its apex of 5.7 million passengers in 2005. Back then there were 110 daily flights from Green. Today there are 60.

While there are fewer flights today, they’re fuller. Flights today are at 90 percent of capacity as compared to 60 percent in 2005.

Green is not an anomaly. Nationally, airline traffic has not increased at projected levels, and as Ahmad observed in an interview last week, traffic is now at levels seen in 2007.

As Warwick knows so well, RIAC has not sat idly waiting for the flying public to return to Green. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on an infrastructure that connects the airport to rail and highways, provides an efficient terminal, and by the end of next year will give it an 8,700-foot runway capable of offering non-stop service to the West Coast. As Ahmad said, “the resources are here.”

But, as we have also learned, Green is not a “Field of Dreams.” We have built it and they have yet to come.

That’s not to suggest we haven’t tried. The RIAC team, former president Kelly Fredericks and interim president Peter Frazier, as well as governors Chafee and Raimondo, have followed up on countless leads to woo airlines to Green and expand service. Incentives such as reduced rental and landing fees have been made available, and Green is being marketed in the region.

Ahmad defines his task as: “You have to make it easier for airlines to do business here. We have to show what’s in it for them.”

We see that. But we also see as the host community, Warwick has a major stake in this game. Ahmad plans to meet the players on the state and local levels. That’s a plus. We want to understand his vision and he should hear the community’s ideas, needs, and concerns.

As we started off, the airport is about making connections. It is also about listening and acting.

We wish Ahmad, as we wish too for Green Airport, a safe and successful flight.