Greenwood-Leflore Airport's Automated Flight Service Station got a visit Thursday from Marion C. Blakey, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Blakey, a native of Tupelo, has been making the rounds to stations all over the country in anticipation of a decision, expected early next year, that may transfer the stations' functions to a private contractor.

"We're going through a transition, and I wanted to meet with the folks that staff it here and tell them what is going on," Blakey said.

The administrator's visit is a first for the airport, according to Granville Jordan, acting chairman of the Airport Board.

The flight service stations provide pilots with weather briefings worldwide. In addition, pilots may file flight plans with the stations if they desire.

Greenwood's operation, which employs between 21 and 25 weather observers, is the only one in the state. It has been operational since 1991.

Under a federal contract competition, known as A-76, the FAA is considering contracting out 58 of its 61 stations nationwide. Those stations have 2,500 employees. In addition, the employees make up 90 percent of the program's operating costs, Blakey said.

The service costs $502 million annually, or an average of $25 for each contact with a pilot. The purpose of the competition is to reduce this cost while providing the same level of service, she said.

"It's going to be a challenging time. We don't know whether it is something that ultimately will be staffed by federal specialists or something that would be staffed by specialists in the area but under private contract. That decision will be made in a couple of months," Blakey said.

Increasingly, the stations are providing information to pilots by phone or computer, she said.

In August, technical proposals were received by five potential service providers. These included the agency's own employees in partnership with Harris Corp., Computer Sciences Corp., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

Blakey came to the airport to discuss the competition with the station's staff. "It's a very structured process" and includes strict performance and cost standards.

The plan requires a cost reduction of at least 22 percent for the operation of the stations. "The best all around proposal is the one that the competition seeks to select," she said.

While the stations provide an important service, the costs are high, Blakey said. "It is costing us a great deal of money, much more so than we can afford and what we take in in terms of fees."

In addition, "a lot of equipment has gotten very old and we can't afford to replace it or change it out. That's why we need to pull this together," she said.

Blakey said a decision on partial privatization will be announced between Jan. 1 and March 17.

Jordan said the station has been a benefit to the airport and he hoped that it would continue to operate as it has.

"We hope it stays off the list. Of course, there's a lot of politics involved, like when they want to close a military base. Close the other one - not ours," he said.